Good Fashion Fund: three years of validated impact at Pratibha Syntex

Good Fashion Fund: three years of validated impact at Pratibha Syntex

Published: Sep 16, 2025

AMSTERDAM | HONG KONG – The Good Fashion Fund (GFF), managed by FOUNT, made its first investment in India with Pratibha Syntex Limited in 2021/22 — a USD 4.5 million long-term loan supporting the replacement and modernisation of key equipment in one spinning unit and one washing unit, plus an expansion of captive solar capacity. Following regular monitoring since 2022 by GFF and third-party advisors, the investment continues to demonstrate positive results, now documented in a deep-dive case study — another first for the industry — highlighting the financial savings, decarbonisation, resource efficiency, and social improvements at Pratibha Syntex. The case study was launched today at the Cascale Annual Meeting in Hong Kong, as part of the session ‘Financing the Future: Decarbonization in Action’.

Continuous monitoring, independent validation of impact

The first on-site monitoring of Pratibha Syntex took place in December 2022, where results were positively verified to have surpassed 50% savings in the key areas of energy, water, and materials. These results were assessed by GFF and its third-party advisors Sphera, Fairwear Foundation, GlobalCAD, and adelphi Consult.

Since then, the company has regularly reported on equipment performance. Over the three-year period between 2022 and 2024, the verified findings confirm that the investment continues to comfortably surpass the minimum 50% environmental savings target for financed key equipment — specifically Good Energy, Good Water, and Good Materials — supported by tangible financial savings (Good Economy) and concrete CO2 savings. It has also driven direct improvements on environmental and social action items, based on the fund’s annual E&S assessment, resulting in a replicable model for other mid-sized manufacturers in the country.

With the funding, Pratibha installed newer spinning equipment, a continuous tumble dryer, a 1.2 MW solar rooftop, and a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the effluent treatment plant — all of which operate more efficiently than the legacy equipment. In 2022, GFF’s solar investment alone contributed half of Pratibha’s captive solar capacity, which has continued to increase since. The company’s renewable energy mix is now approximately 25% (purchased and captive), with further expansion under commissioning.

“Thanks to the investment from Good Fashion Fund, we undertook quite a few initiatives. We started with an initial plan, and since our partnership we were motivated to continue our sustainable production transition. Since then, we have upgraded almost the entire facility, thanks to the catalyst for change that GFF was on our sustainability journey. Importantly, this has enabled us to measure and communicate ESG impact more holistically, while sharpening our focus on the areas needing greater progress. As a mid-sized manufacturer, the benefits we are seeing in CO2 reduction, efficiency gains, and social safeguards, supported by cost savings, will hopefully provide a business case for other manufacturers to adopt and for brands to deepen their support in these turbulent times,” said Shreyaskar Chaudhary, Managing Director of Pratibha Syntex.

Rooftop solar panels at Pratibha Syntex

Key results from the monitoring of GFF-financed equipment (2022–2024, 3-year period)

Environmental

  • 74% reduction in energy consumption (spinning, dryer) — 5,392,266 kWh saved
  • 100% reduction in water consumption (tumble dryer) — ~40 million litres saved
  • Reduction in steam consumption (19% ETP, 100% dryer) — 11,694,028 kg steam saved
  • 69% reduction in ETP chemical sludge and 21% reduction in ETP chemical use
  • 10,861.5 tonnes of CO2 saved from GFF-financed equipment

Social

  • Safer working conditions through a continuous focus on worker health and safety
  • Updated long-term environmental strategy for the company
  • Commitment to gender equity, including active promotion of female supervisors
  • Upgraded accommodation for 900 factory workers

Financial

  • USD 727,160 approx. gross savings from solar, energy-efficient equipment, and water savings

Launch of case study at Cascale Annual Meeting 2025 (Hong Kong)

With the support of advisors GlobalCAD and adelphi Consult, GFF is proud to release this deep-dive case study on Pratibha Syntex alongside this announcement, offering a closer view of the fund’s use of proceeds, its environmental and financial outcomes, and the social improvements enabled by the fund’s capital and technical assistance.

The complete case study with further insights is available for download here.

Nina Retzlaff, Senior Consultant at GlobalCAD, commented: “We have been supporting GFF since the beginning on measuring, managing and responsibly reporting the validated portfolio results. The case of Pratibha Syntex, and other GFF investments, is testament to what is possible when blended finance and technical assistance are used to support textile SMEs in their sustainability transition. GFF continues to lead the way and demonstrate impact for the industry to adopt and scale rapidly.”

As one of the few publicly documented examples of impact validation in Tier 2 and Tier 3 textile manufacturing — the Sri Kannapiran Mills case study being the other — this offers valuable insights for investors, brands, and ecosystem stakeholders looking to accelerate their climate and social targets.

Launch of GFF case study of Pratibha Syntex impact results at Cascale Annual Meeting 2025

Speaking at the Cascale session in Hong Kong, Jayanth Kashyap, Investment Lead at Good Fashion Fund, said: “In today’s world, real action speaks louder than plans. That is exactly what Shreyaskar and his team have done — leading from the front and driving climate action that is measurable, impactful, and inclusive of the workers and communities associated with Pratibha. We hope the success of the GFF model gives more philanthropic organisations and private-sector investors the confidence to actively allocate and deploy capital for the textile and apparel industry transition.”

Speaking on the impact and case study, Bob Assenberg, Co-Founder of FOUNT and Fund Director of Good Fashion Fund, said: “As our first partner in India, Shreyaskar and Pratibha Syntex are true front-runners, and we are very proud to have accelerated and amplified their sustainability ambitions. They embody the ideal company — unperturbed by macro events, continuing to innovate and improve while preparing for any and all contingencies. This case, like SKML, further strengthens our conviction that catalytic finance must go deeper into the supply chain — and it directly informs the design of Good Fashion Fund 2.0, which will aim to create stronger alignment between brands’ and manufacturers’ sustainability strategies.”

The Good Fashion Fund (GFF) was initiated by Fashion for Good and is a collaboration between Laudes Foundation, The Mills Fabrica, and FOUNT, complemented by Rabobank as lender to the Fund. GFF provides long-term USD loans alongside technical, environmental, and social expertise to manufacturers in Asia, primarily India and Bangladesh. Financing is used to invest in impact equipment that delivers both economic growth and good fashion practice. The Fund has a blended capital structure with a current fund size of USD 19 million and is managed by FOUNT, a leading impact investment firm based in the Netherlands.

Current GFF partners include Pratibha Syntex (India), Sri Kannapiran Mills (India), Progress Apparels (Bangladesh), EPIC Group (Bangladesh), KKP Fine Linen (India), and Sharadha Terry Products (India).

Website: www.goodfashionfund.com
LinkedIn: Good-Fashion-Fund
GFF video: YouTube