“I just feel so lucky to work here at Hela Clothing,” quipped Glenn Sonntag, its General Manager – Engineering and Sustainability: “We are a purposeful company [that is] extremely mindful of environmental protection.”

He enthused: “We believe in addressing issues relating to inequality and diversity while trying to reduce our impact on global warming.”

“Focussing on sustainability and ethical practices is definitely considered a worthy investment – our customers demand ‘green manufacturing,’ which is ideal for me as a sustainability professional. There’s a lot more we can and are trying to do to up the ante on reducing our carbon footprint – it is an amazing time to be working in the apparel industry,” he effused.

Elaborating on pinch points where improvements can be made to render apparel manufacturing processes more eco-friendly, he stated that “harvesting and producing raw materials are high impact areas in terms of increased carbon emissions.”

Sonntag continued: “We use cotton extensively, the growth of which itself consumes a lot of resources and land space, to produce garments. Production of synthetic fibre too is very energy intensive.”

“Transportation of these supplies also impacts the environment detrimentally, especially in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. It is imperative to focus on ‘circularity’ – recycling and reusing raw materials – to up the ante on sustainability. Using low impact or organic cotton, and minimising shipping and regionally sourcing supplies, are further protective measures that can be taken towards sustaining the ecology,” he explained.

Quoting facts, he mentioned that “the BBC estimated in a recent report that over 92 million tons of textile are wasted each year – and that in the US alone, around 85 percent of clothing is either land filled or incinerated, which damages the environment. Against this backdrop, 15 million tons of used clothes are sent to Africa every week, of which 40 percent are of inferior quality and cannot be used there.”

“I look upon these situations as opportunities to solve the puzzle on minimising wastage and moving towards true circularity,” he revealed.

Sonntag said with conviction that this is “a challenge to be embraced from a professional standpoint. We’re seeking partnerships with our customers to recycle and reuse our garments to up the ante in terms of making a real difference towards reducing our carbon footprint.”

“Our main priority however, is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that four percent of carbon missions in the world is due to the fashion industry – so we have recently committed to achieve set science based reduction targets. This is not an option as our supply chain itself is at risk due to adverse effects on the environment impacting the very sustenance of the industry,” Sonntag declared.

As for ethical garment manufacturing and social policies that come into play, he remarked: “There are differing ethical practices adhered to in countries across the world. In my experience, Sri Lanka has adopted many fair trade habits in the apparel industry.”

Sonntag disclosed: “We are audited under different ethical garment manufacturing bodies and systems – the SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit, Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, Social & Labour Convergence Program (WRAP), Supplier Compliance Audit Network (SCAN) and Better Work Programme – a partnership between the ILO and IFC.”

“Sri Lanka is definitely a place where ethical garment manufacturing is practiced very strongly due to the ethos of this country and the way people carry out business,” he noted, adding: “This has become a trend in the industry – it is now a norm.”

He summed up: “Besides, unfair trading customs are not tolerated by the socially conscious modern consumer anymore; you simply cannot get away with being unethical. The revolution in trading standards is driven by our customers.”