Our Full Guide To Sri Lanka’s Textile & Apparel Industry

The country of Sri Lanka, located off the coast of India, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, is a key player in the global textile and apparel sector. This country has the highest apparel exports per capita worldwide, with the local apparel industry earning a total of $4,864.55 million in exports in 2023. This represents a small decline compared to the $5,933.52 million of 2022, but numbers are still incredibly high considering the country's relatively small size. In terms of country, the US is Sri Lanka's main export partner, followed by the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, India, France, Belgium, and Australia (EDB, 2024). 

To give a few recent statistics, from January to April 2024, the Sri Lankan apparel sector exported a total of $1,473.69 million, with knitted products making up the vast majority of exports, earning the country a total of $829.1 million. Knitted apparels were followed by woven clothes, which made $608.58 million, and other products, accounting for $36.01 in earnings (Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association, 2024). 

Sri Lanka produces all kinds of textiles, with single jersey fabric, interlock fabric, and fleece fabric among the most common.

As of today, this industry directly employs 350,000 people throughout the country and an extra 350,000 indirectly (EDB, 2024). These are impressive numbers, considering Sri Lanka has a population of only 22 million. Unlike other countries, factories are not equally distributed throughout Sri Lanka’s territories, and most of the local apparel manufacturing factories are located in the southwestern area of the island. But is this industry sustainable?

Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices in Sri Lanka's Apparel Industry

Unfortunately, similarly to other countries, Sri Lanka is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. This is why implementing effective, sustainable practices has been a main goal of the country's apparel industry for years. Many local factories have recently shifted to eco-friendly architecture designs, reducing their carbon and water consumption.

According to Sri Lanka's Apparel Sourcing Association, founded in 1993, this country has championed the cause of sustainable apparel manufacturing for several years. To give an example, Sri Lanka is home to the world's first custom-built green apparel factory as well as Asia's first carbon neutral certified facility. On top of this, this country also features several LEED Platinum and Gold Certified Manufacturing Plants, namely facilities designed to consume fewer resources, including water, energy, and other natural resources, resulting in fewer emissions and waste (SLASA, 2024). 

In general, Sri Lanka's apparel industry has focused on six main pillars to boost eco-friendly practices: energy and emissions, water and wastewater, solid waste, chemicals, biodiversity, and products. Plenty of factories throughout the country are now on a mission to become carbon neutral, with several of these focusing on properly disposing of all solid waste, restoring local biodiversity, and promoting reforestation projects (De Fonseka, 2023). 

On top of this, the Joint Apparel Association (JAAF) registered a significant increase in Sri Lankan companies obtaining the famous Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). This is one of the most renowned green certifications in the global apparel industry and is given only to manufacturing facilities following strict eco-friendly practices. To obtain this certification, clothes must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibres, namely natural organic fibres grown without synthetic pesticides or herbicides as well as without the use of GMOs, while protecting the health of both local workers and ecosystems. 

According to Ganesh Kasekar, a representative of GOTS, Sri Lanka has registered a 21% increase in GOTS-certified facilities compared to 2022, with 74 factories now holding this certification for the period from 2023 to 2024 (Specialty Fabrics Reviews, 2023). But what about work ethics? 

Most of Sri Lanka's apparel industries followed a regulation known as 'Garment Without Guilt.' This ensures that all clothes are produced free of child labour, forced labour, discrimination, and sweatshop practices. According to the Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association (SLASA), the country's apparel industry was the first worldwide to implement fair labour practices as well as safe working conditions throughout all its manufacturing processes. 

Sri Lanka's Clothes Production Through The Centuries

The beginning of the Sri Lankan modern textile and apparel industry can be dated to the early 1950s. It was during this period that the first manufacturing facilities started to emerge in the country, mainly targeting local needs. However, towards the end of the decade, new economic restrictions on imports were implemented to boost local production. 

Major basic industries were owned by the state, even though, with time, more and more private companies started to be established. In the 1960s, Sri Lanka started to manufacture its garments locally, even though most of the raw materials needed to produce the textiles were still imported. At the end of the 1960s, the Sri Lankan apparel industry finally started to export to countries worldwide, especially in the UK and the Soviet Union.

Throughout the 1970s, this industry became extremely competitive, and towards the end of the decade, the sector experienced exponential growth due to two main factors: the market-oriented liberal economic policies introduced in 1977 and the so-called Multi Fibre Arrangement. The latter was an agreement that governed the global trade of both the textile and apparel industries between 1974 and 1994. This deal imposed quotas on the amount of textiles and garments that developing countries were allowed to export to developed countries, from which Sri Lanka benefited greatly (Textile Learner, 2013).

As of today, Sri Lanka remains a key player in global apparel and textile production, manufacturing high-quality garments thanks to its state-of-the-art facilities. With a focus on constant innovation, sustainability, and ethical working practices, Sri Lanka's textile and apparel sector will surely keep growing in the upcoming years.