As Pakistan grapples with the very real-life effects of climate change, Khaadi opened a “Green Hub” in Mardan last week, a store it is calling Pakistan’s first net zero energy retail space, and we wanted to know what’s so green about it.
Net zero energy is when there’s 100 per cent on-site renewable energy. Khaadi says its Green Hub is powered entirely by natural resources and designed to generate more energy than it consumes, achieving a net balance of zero. The goal is to reduce its environmental footprint and operate sustainably, a representative for the brand told Images.
Theirs may well be the first net zero energy retail space in Pakistan. Globally, American drugstore giant Walgreens opened a net zero energy store in Illinois in 2013, while Target has one in California. This past May, Lidl announced Ireland’s first net zero supermarket would be constructed.
Khaadi says the store is run entirely on solar energy — and we know how well Pakistan has taken to solar power. The country is experiencing a solar boom with many people rushing to install solar panels in a bid to dodge expensive power costs.
The Green Hub runs entirely on solar energy and “operates in sync with natural daylight,” meaning its timings correlate with when the sun is out. With high-performance glass façades, the building has been designed in a way to maximise sunlight and insulation, therefore reducing the need for artificial lighting and cooling.
If you’re stepped into any clothing store in Pakistan, you know the temperature is usually set to frosty. The Green Hub’s temperature control is inspired by nature, according to Khaadi. They’re going back to traditional methods of keeping homes cool by using porous terracotta vessels and aspen husk pads to cool air before it’s circulated in the store by a fan.
The Terracool Panel acts as a natural filter, cooling the air through evaporation and releasing it inward at a “noticeably lower temperature”. Its drip system recirculates its own water, to minimise waste. The aspen husk pads hold moisture, ensuring that the cooling effect lingers, while the drip system above keeps the cycle continuous. By the time the air crosses the drift eliminator, it has been both cooled and cleaned, reducing the need for mechanical cooling almost entirely.
In winter, the terracotta mass, warmed by the sun during the day, retains heat and slows down cold drafts at night. Its thermal inertia ensures that indoor spaces remain stable, tempering extreme shifts between day and night.
Vertical product displays also allow air to flow freely and a closed-loop system sustains surrounding plants with minimal water use.
The guiding principle, in the brand’s words, is to take only what’s needed and give back more. That doesn’t, however, mean that the store is putting that excess energy production back into the power grid. The store is “completely off-grid”, which means it does not have an electricity connection point to the main grid and therefore cannot send that excess energy back.
The design choices at the Green Hub were made to “work in harmony with nature, reducing dependency on conventional energy and resources”. The layout is meant to support sustainability.
The brand says the materials for the store are 95 per cent locally sourced — cold-rolled steel, local marble, lime, stone and terracotta, all carefully chosen for their strength, aesthetic value and proximity. By sourcing from nearby regions, the store significantly reduces carbon emissions and transportation costs, while also supporting regional craftsmanship, the brand’s representative said.
The remaining 5pc largely comprises “specialised components that are not yet manufactured in Pakistan”.
As for other methods of sustainability, Khaadi has shifted to e-receipts at The Green Hub and uses recycled shopping bags, eliminating plastic fabric packaging.
Khaadi plans on taking its Green Hubs nationwide, but part of a sustainable design means that they can’t just replicate the design at every store. Each area is different and therefore requires a different approach. Each hub will follow one philosophy: design that works with its environment, according to the brand. The form changes with the climate, cooling in hot, dry regions, insulating in cold areas and resisting salt and humidity in coastal zones, the representative told Images. Instead of replicating a single design, the Green Hubs will adapt to their locations, “turning climate into an architectural advantage”.
We’ve often spoken about the unsustainable nature of fashion in our country, especially with the rise of fast fashion and straying from our sustainable roots. We’re also seeing the effects climate change is having on our country as we speak, as floods ravage parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It seems Khaadi is aiming to go back to Pakistan’s far more sustainable roots with its Green Hub, and if its promises of net zero energy ring true, that’s certainly worth celebrating.