Annabelle Georgina Hutter
Creative Director Säntis Textiles
We source fibres, yarns and fabrics in Asia
A Swiss, family-owned and run textile sourcing and supply company headquartered in Singapore, Säntis Textiles specialises in material, fibre, yarns and fabric development and sourcing for the global market in garment and technical textiles. In a talk with Fibre2Fashion, Säntis Creative Director Annabelle Georgina Hutter talks about sourcing and 100 per cent recycled cotton.
What exactly do textile sourcing and supply companies do?
We source fibres, yarns and fabrics in Asia. We monitor production and quality throughout the whole process with own Saentis QC inspection and guarantee consistency to our partners in Turkey, Europe and the US (the main markets).
Its five years since Säntis launched 100 per cent recycled cotton. How is the response?
It’s been a very strong response and we are proud to be leading the way. We now have many clients using the 100 per cent recycled cotton fabrics and yarns in their supply chains. For bigger fashion brands, we even start to look at designing commercialised closed loop systems which is the next step in the industry.
Logistics plays an important part in supply chain. How did container shortage, jam at seaports, blockage of Suez Canal and other problems impact your schedules?
We luckily were not affected. Cost-wise it was more affected than time-wise. Freight-wise the costs exploded in Q3 2021, and we were affected by it, but in respect to schedules we had very little delays thanks to long shipping partnerships and early schedule planning.
Which are the major markets for textile sourcing in terms of quality and quantity?
Asia and Turkey.
What is the importance of foreign exchange rate while selecting a country for sourcing needs?
In our case, raw material streams are USD based (Traditionally, natural fibres in cotton/wool are traded in USD as well as synthetic fibres which are oil based are also traded in USD). We trade in USD so we can trade internationally at ease.
Where does Säntis develop new products, like the recycled cotton? Do you have your own manufacturing facilities?
We developed the technology in 2016 initially in China, then we transferred the knowledge to KIPAS in Turkey who we have a longstanding partnership with, and our largest RCO100 recycling facility and supply chain is there. We also have RCO100 supply chains in Pakistan and China. Nowadays our technology is developed in Switzerland using Swiss engineering skills at Swinsol.
For a given client, how do you identify the most sustainable and feasible supply chain method to implement? Does any software help you in this?
We mostly use only our experience and expertise to design the most sustainable supply chains. However, we do have wastewater treatment facilities and energy efficiency controls all throughout our supply chain. For this we use the latest technology and software to monitor the data thoroughly.
Please give a list of things that need to be checked before a particular company is approached for sourcing needs.
For us a good relationship and creative minds that think alike are key. Modern equipment, standards in every aspect from quality, environment to social are a must. Another key point is whether a potential supplier allows us to place our own QC inspectors in his facility and we have free access within the factories for inspection and audits.
Besides fibre, yarn and fabric, what other materials does Säntis Textiles specialise in sourcing?
High quality and sustainable polyester, polyester/cotton and 100 per cent cotton base fabrics for the abrasive industry
Home furnishing base fabrics—we supply inherent flame retardant fibres and yarns
For wind, energy, marine and aeronautic system manufacturers, we produce peel-ply fabrics
Base fabrics for sun protection products, print media products
Sustainable fabrics to the composite and coating industry as well as scrim, base and support fabrics for lamination and synthetic leather process
Top quality automotive weaving yarns, PATY, PDTY and PFDY
Base fabrics for medical use (band-aid), tapes
Work wear, protection wear, corporate wear.
It is said that no buying or trade takes place without price negotiations. What is your experience?
Prices for raw material are always in a flux according to the market outlook as well as supply and demand situation. So, naturally we see a lot of highs and lows in prices. However, we set reasonable reference prices and work from there to deliver the best possible outcome for the client and our partners in the end.
Post COVID-19, how far do you see companies adopting ‘China Plus One’ strategy for their sourcing needs. Which countries/regions are going to benefit from this strategy?
Many companies have already adopted this strategy pre COVID-19 and will continue to do so. Pakistan, India, Turkey, Bangladesh and Vietnam are benefitting from this – that’s where already a big textile industry is established. The Southeast Asian region and countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia may potentially see an uptick from this, but compared to their counterparts they have relatively smaller textile industries.
For whom do you source? Are they global brands are mid-sized companies? And why do they outsource their sourcing work to you?
We source for a range of companies in various sectors. This ranges from high-fashion brands to leading home furnishing companies. They work with us because of our unique QC control which we have in place at every location. We have our own teams and staff who overlook every facility we work with. They also work with us because we offer innovation (our own technological solutions) and therefore can provide best quality products unlike others in the market. We are also a family company so working with us is like working with family. We are proud of that!
In which countries/regions do you have your supply chains? Do you plan to add more countries?
Turkey, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam are the current major supply chain locations for us. We plan to explore Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the future.
Published on: 07/04/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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