I was born and raised in Bangladesh. Producing clothes has always been my passion; I started my entrepreneurial journey in apparels 30 years ago. I started in the merchandising department; moving on to work for Walmart.

With the experience gained in the susbequient years, I started Odyssey Craft Private Limited. We started by first setting up the manufacturing unit in the name of ‘Rio Fashion Wear Limited’. The success of our first manufacturing unit propelled us to start our first green LEED platinum factory, with 11 sewing lines and washing facilities.

We have been associated with Design Arc UK since its inception.

At Odyssey, we are always eager to learn and adopt new innovations and developments globally in the apparel industry. We have a dedicated team assigned to keep abreast of industry publications and media updates as well as attending trade shows and exhibitions.

In the past, I have participated in training programmes in Japan on advanced production systems. We also travel overseas regularly to obtain first-hand experience on different design philosophies, techniques and ethical developments.

I think sustainability is a natural evolution of the manufacturing and business model for any company. It’s a big task and we are trying to improve things constantly. We have implemented the following sustainable practises at Odyssey:

Innovation:

• Converting all of waste to energy
• Maximum utilisation of natural energy resources
• Encouraging use of “green” chemicals
• Recovering the chemicals and its waste minimisation

Energy:

• Reducing usage of energy-inefficient sources
• Engaging in energy efficient technology
• Reducing air pollution emission

Water:

• Reducing water consumption
• 90% of water is recycled
• Utilisation of rainwater

We do our best to maintain a healthy working environment in our organisation by promoting individual growth in line with institutional growth; resulting in an ever evolving and improving workforce.

We provide training and development programs for all our employees to help them enhance their capabilities and skill sets. Sustainable growth is important to contribute towards a strong economy and it helps us continue to create jobs within our industry.

The safety and security of our employees is our utmost priority, we provide regular training when handling high risk machinery.

The communities we work with and build are ethical, diverse and focus on providing and maintaining a good quality of life by engaging in consistent counselling and open communication.