Fostering transparency across Sri Lanka’s textiles industry
Published date: 27 May 2025
New regional initiative to secure long-term resilience and sustainability for key sector
With Sri Lanka’s textiles and apparel sector central to the country’s economic success, how can corporate reporting support improved labor practices and enhance competitiveness while meeting growing disclosure expectations from regulators and stakeholders alike?
A new initiative, jointly led by GRI South Asia, the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka (SDC) and the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), is raising the bar on how companies understand and report their social, environmental and economic impacts, by using the GRI Standards to empower better decision-making and drive sector-wide improvements.
Launched in April, the Improving Transparency for Sustainable Business (ITSB) program includes targeted capacity-building activities for over 100 textiles and apparel companies, encompassing both multinational enterprises and SMEs. The goal is to enhance the uptake of sustainability reporting in Sri Lanka on sector-relevant topics – such as labor practices, waste and climate change. The ITSB will also explore how to achieve user-friendly digital platforms to simplify reporting and support greater inclusion of smaller companies.
The ITSB initiative represents a pivotal step forward for Sri Lanka’s textiles and apparel industry. By embracing the GRI Standards and strengthening reporting, businesses can take meaningful action to improve their social and environmental impacts across the value chain. In doing so, they not only enhance competitiveness and resilience, but also foster greater trust with stakeholders. Transparency on impacts becomes more than a compliance tool – it is a driver of inclusive growth that benefits people, the planet, and society at large.
Dr. Aditi Haldar, Director of GRI South AsiaAs Sri Lanka’s leading industry, textiles and apparel companies generates around 42% of total export revenue and sustain over 350,000 directs jobs nationwide.
The ITSB program, supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), is also planned to be rolled out in India and Bangladesh in the second half of 2025. The ITSB aligns with the recently launched Action Plan to Develop Inclusive and Sustainable Business Capacities in Sri Lanka, developed by SDC in collaboration with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Ministry of Industries and Technical Assistance.