Sri Lanka Apparel launches 'Garments without Guilt' in Europe

Sri Lanka Apparel launched its "Garments without Guilt" initiative in Europe at the Fatex Fair in Paris recently.

The Garments without Guilt initiative focuses on ethical manufacture and sustainable development assuring the industry's commitment to ethical working conditions, free of child labour, free of forced labour, free of discrimination and free of sweatshop practices.

"Children have no business in our business" is just one of the principles governing Sri Lanka Apparel's industry ethos. The others include providing a better quality of life to the apparel workers through rural poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, education and implementing environmental initiatives minimising damage to the environment.

Sri Lanka's Apparel Industry, dynamic and forward moving with over 30 years experience, has been at the forefront of industrial excellence and social responsibility in Asia, conforming and complying with the norms of ethical sourcing backed by strong legislation. And over the past decade as the global interest focused on how, where and by whom products were made, Sri Lanka Apparel was already ahead of the curve putting their own inherent ethical thinking into practice.

With the belief that one cannot better lives of people without a clear understanding of the key issues that confront them, both professionally and personally, Sri Lanka Apparel's mission has progressed beyond the workplace to the community to include pro-people initiatives.

The United Nations estimates that women account for 2/3rds of the world's work yet earn only 5% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's real property.

Sri Lanka Apparel by virtue of being the largest single employer in the country, by far, mostly from rural backgrounds, is helping women build better lives for themselves and their families by protecting their rights, undertaking rural poverty alleviation programs and creating opportunities for education and personal growth.

Commenting on the impact of empowerment of women in the industry, Chairman of Sri Lanka Apparel Ajith Dias said "Women in our industry have become change agents on a wide range of issues from children's education, better healthcare to improved working conditions.

And by creating a more equitable society, we are making a profound impact on the quality of life of the people and the development of our society." Sri Lanka Apparel supports many environment initiatives focused on minimising its impact on nature.

Every effort is being made to create sustainable growth by protecting the environment, both at the workplace and in the community. International standards of recycling, effluent treatment and waste management practices are followed to run the operations at optimum environmental efficiency.

"We are proud to have created a business that can compete with integrity and respect. Although maintaining good standards of compliance comes at a high cost, we find it makes good business sense too. After all an enlightened, healthy community is the backbone of sustainable growth", added Dias.

Sri Lanka is in fact the only outsourced manufacturing country in Asia which has signed up to 27 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Core Conventions covering areas such as prohibition of forced labour and prohibition of child labour.

In addition, the country's strong legislation demands safe and healthy working conditions, governed hours of work, social and security fund contributions and environmental protection standards.

In recognition, Sri Lanka is the only country in Asia to have been granted concessions by the European Union under the GSP+ scheme for good governance, which entitles duty-free imports under certain criteria to the EU.

Sri Lanka Apparel has already commissioned Swiss based SGS Group, world's largest organisation in the field of inspection, verification, testing and certification, to monitor the Sri Lanka Apparel Code of Conduct Audits.

The Sri Lanka Apparel delegation at FATEX is headed by its Chairman Ajith Dias and includes prominent garment manufacturers such as MAS Holdings, Penguin Group, Union Apparels, Garment Services, Jubilee Apparels, Denshun Industries and Alexandra Industries.

The product capabilities on display will range from intimate apparel, sportswear, leisurewear, children's wear, formal wear and garments with varying washed effects to hand flat knits and computerised auto fashioned knits as well as embellishments including hand worked sequin beads and embroideries.

Sri Lanka Apparel is the public face of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), which is the apex body of the industry, whose membership represents all of the apparel and textile businesses in Sri Lanka.