Artistic Milliners boosts clothing production and empowers women

With a planned production capacity of 600,000 pieces per month, the new factory will increase Artistic Milliners’ garment production by 30% to 43.2 million pieces per year.

The facility joins Artistic Milliners’ growing end-to-end vertical apparel manufacturing ecosystem. It represents a $60 million investment to increase Artistic Milliners’ production and, at the same time, make a substantial commitment to gender equality in employment.

The site, which Artistic Milliners says operates under a human resources strategy designed to promote inclusivity and equity, is located in the company’s AM-4 clothing park which spans approximately nine acres in Karachi and employs over 10,500 workers.

“The opening of this factory is an opportunity to put into practice our vision for the future of garment production,” said Murtaza Ahmed, Managing Director of Artistic Milliners. “We see this as a model factory, a factory where the latest technological innovations in efficiency and sustainability meet the best employment practices in terms of women’s empowerment and well-being.”

Designed as a gender-neutral and equitable workplace in line with the International Finance Corporation’s family-friendly agenda, employment at the facility will be predominantly female. The company plans that 70% of the workforce will be female, including 50% of middle managers. Many of these employees will be employed in non-traditional roles such as dry processing, pressing and other departments, says Artistic Milliners.

Meanwhile, the new 500,000 square foot facility is designed to be USGBC LEED Platinum level and includes 850 KW solar panels and advanced MBR (membrane bioreactor) water recycling technology to increase daily capacity of Artistic Milliners water recycling to 1.5 million gallons, helping the company meet its 90% recycling goal.

In line with Supply Chain 4.0 principles, the new smart factory is also equipped with the latest garment industry automation technology, which digitizes all factory processes and improves processing time.

Designed to serve Artistic Milliners’ largest customers, the facility is already operational and shipping product. It is on track to reach full capacity by the first quarter of 2023.