India: Day Eleven

Today we woke up in Erode and had a non-stop day.  With visits to the SSM Institute of Textile Technology & Polytechnic College, SSM Processing Mill LTD, Sri Cheran Synthetics India Limited, and Green Land Textile Printers, we were definitely exhausted by the end of it!

We first traveled to the SSM Institute of Textile Technology & Polytechnic College. At SSM, we had quite the grand welcome.  The principal, chairman, board members, and instructors greeted us, showed us a stunning colored salt display that students had made.  Students at the Institute are between the ages of 15 and 18 and this school serves at a vocational training program.  The curriculum was extremely in depth, preparing young men and women to enter the apparel manufacturing industry.  Students are taught everything from jacquard looms (the precursor to the first computers!!), to yarn dyeing, to screen printing, to effluent and pollution control.  The school had a library full of books related to the industry and bounded research projects the students have completed.  The students were eager to meet us and show us their work, it was so lovely!

We were served lunch on traditional banana leaves and then said our goodbyes to the students and continued to our next visit.

Just a few minutes down the road, we arrived at our next visit, SSM Processing Mills LTD.  This facility processes mainly cotton and viscose rayon. The opportunity to see how singeing, tentering, roll printing and many other finishing processes are actually done in person was valuable so that we could connect the processes and machinery we learned about in the classroom to the actual production of textiles right before our eyes. Always fascinating to me, is roll printing.  The screens are created almost the same way as silk screens, through photo emulsion and reaction to light, then paint is added on the inside of this tubular screen which is wrapped around a giant rotating rod so that the paint seeping through the design (the exposed area) could be transferred to the fabric as it passes by below on a conveyer belt. To bring it full circle, we got to see and feel the end products some of which would go on to garment factories and eventually end up in your nearest Kohls, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, H&M, Marks & Spenser, and Old Navy.

We even had a chance to see their water treatment plant, which was quite a massive operation.  They recycle about 80% of their water and raise fish in their treated water pond (which were served to us at lunch–ah!).

Our next visit was to one of the largest spinning facility in the country, Sri Cheran Synthetics India Limited. We were not allowed to take photos at this visit.  Here we saw another spinning unit where bails of raw cotton first entered into the blow room for cleaning and fiber opening. Carding then follows in order to get fibers going in the same direction. The result is a sliver that enters the drawing process (breaker drawing and finisher drawing) to become even more parallel. At this point slivers are ready for roving in order to be spun into yarns and eventually become threads to be spun on to bobbins, then spindles. Combing was another step to remove additional short fibers to achieve finer cotton yarns. Although we had seen another spinning facility before, it was interesting to see the contrast in a more mechanized production that allow this facility and machinery to run 24 hours a day, only ever stopping when there is an electrical problem. Seeing 40 circular knitting machines used to knit tubular jersey fabrics, was impressive, as these machines are definitely more cutting-edge and not as common in many of the places we visited.

Already exhausted, we loaded back into our bus and headed to our last visit: Green Land Textile Printers.

Green Land predominately does commercial tie-dyeing for stores such as Justice.  They proudly showed us the water treatment plant that they built in partnership with other local businesses, so that they could all treat their water.  Workers demonstrated the steps they take to dye the garments and chatted with each other.  It was a wonderful environment– it felt like family.  Workers stayed late to meet us and serve us dinner, children and spouses joined as well.  One of the workers, Gomathi, even gifted each of us a beautiful earring and necklace set that she made.

I felt bad we were so tired, as it was such a great place and I wish I had had the energy to interact more with our hosts.

Ready to fall asleep, we returned back to our hotel for the evening.