Always at the forefront of sustainable apparel manufacturing practices, Brandix Group has achieved yet another feat by receiving the M&S Eco Attribute Award for its two plants in its Lingerie Cluster in Nittambuwa, by the British retailor Marks & Spencer. With the latest certifications, the Brandix Group has seven Eco Attribute recipient factories, at Koggala, Seeduwa, Giritalé and Nittambuwa (2) in Sri Lanka and one each in India and Bangladesh. The Eco Factory Attribute is awarded under Marks & Spencer’s ‘Plan A’ initiative which was launched in January 2007, intended to produce products with integrity by using the most sustainable raw materials available and to work with factories operating to the highest environmental and social standards, thus encouraging suppliers around the world to make their supply chains carbon neutral through Green manufacturing processes.
The two factories have reduced energy and water consumption by 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, and are recycling or reusing 100 per cent of their solid waste, enabling them to score 91 points out of 100 at the M&S Eco Factory Audit. The installation of energy- efficient airconditioning, solar water heaters and skylights and modifications to the compressed air system resulted in reductions in energy consumption. These plants are said to no longer generate solid waste for disposal, and food waste has also been reduced to a minimum. “Reducing the impact of our operations on the environment is a key group initiative and a continuing process at Brandix, and progressively encompasses more manufacturing locations, as we reach and surpass enterprise-wide annual targets for reducing our carbon footprint,” said Rajiv Malalasekera, CEO, Brandix Apparel Solutions Ltd. – Lingerie Cluster. Overall, conservation initiatives across the Group have enabled Brandix to reduce electricity consumption per product by 12% in 2013-14 over the previous year, and cut water consumption by 2.6% during the same period.
