Apparel industry of Sri Lanka

The design, manufacture and export of textiles and apparel products is one of the biggest industries in Sri Lanka, and one which plays a key role in advancing the country's economy.[1] The apparel industry of Sri Lanka employs about 15% of the country's workforce, accounting for about half of the country's total exports,[2] countries in the world relative to its population.[3][4]

Economic growth

Exports of apparel per capita to the US market from leading garment-manufacturing countries, 1989– 2009.
Over the next few decades, the apparel industry grew to represent Sri Lanka's number one export. following a 38% increase in textile-based revenue from 1996 to 1997, in which the industry generated $2.18 billion in earnings, 50 new textile factories opened in Sri Lanka in 1998.[9]  As of 1998, the Sri Lanka apparel industry employed about 300,000 people in 800 factories. Sri Lanka nationals are primary owners of 85% of the small-to-mid-sized factories, while larger operations are typically joint ventures or foreign-owned.[9]

The end of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009 relieved pressure on the country's garment industry. After fighting ceased, Brandix, a garment manufacturer with 25,000 employees,[10] that its factory in Punani would double its exports.[11] largest ever Design Festival, highlighting the country's high-fashion merchandise, upcoming designers and advancing the industry's desire to become known as a hub for design, as well as manufacturing.[1]

Services began operating out of Sri Lanka in 2010. In doing so, the global company announced three international textile exhibits in Sri Lanka, each to highlight a different aspect of the local textile and apparel industry while allaying fears about political instability and to show that Sri Lanka can compete with the EU market.[12]

As of the late 2000s (decade), the Sri Lankan textile industry contributes 39% to the industrial
production of the country and represents 43% of the country's total exports. Since the 1970s, the industry has grown to become the country's largest single source of export revenue.[13]

 Later that year, Sri Lanka held its More exhibits followed once the Conference and Exhibition Management
Women working in Sri Lanka apparel industry.Sri Lanka's apparel industry has invested much in achieving recognition for what the Daily Mirror calls its "conscientious standpoint in apparel production". Through the long-running Garments without Guilt campaign, the industry's trade association, Sri Lanka Apparel has called attention to its adherence to ethical considerations, including its opposition to child labour. Sri Lanka Apparel is a signatory to 39 conventions of the International Labour Organization, the only country with a significant manufacturing industry to do so.[1] the country, and the minimum statutory age for employment is 18, though some conditional  exemptions exist for those over 16. Sri Lankan law also mandates that employers contribute 3%  of an employee's salary to a trust fund, which the employee receives after he or she leaves the company.[17]

Among the largest firms in the Sri Lanka apparel industry, employing about 16,000 people,[18] is MAS Intimates, which is a supplier to Gap, Marks and Spencer, Nike and Victoria's Secret, among others. In recent years, MAS has placed a strong emphasis on corporate social  Child labour is outlawed in responsibility, for which it has been recognised with a CIMA Financial Management Award in 2007.[19]

Women and minorities in the workforce

A large portion of Sri Lanka's factory work is provided by women. As of 2010, 350,000 women are employed in the country's 850 apparel factories, or 85% of the industry's workforce.[19] Ethnic minorities also play a significant role in apparel production. The two largest apparel companies in Sri Lanka, MAS and Brandix, are run by individuals who belong to ethnic or religious minority groups. Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country, though Brandix is owned by a Muslim family. MAS Holdings is owned by a Hindu family, and members of the company's leadership team belong to the Tamil minority community.[17][20]

Top Apparel Giants in Sri Lanka

• MAS Holdings – http://www.masholdings.com/
• Brandix Lanka Limited – http://www.brandix.lk/
• Penguin Group/Emjay International – http://www.penguinsl.com/
• Hirdaramani Group
• Maliban Textiles
• Bam Holdings
•Jay Jay Mills Lanka (Pvt)