Brandix Textiles, Sri Lanka's largest woven fabric processor, achieved a national milestone recently when its plant at Makandura in the Wayamba Industrial Zone became the first woven textile operation in the country to receive Fair Trade and Organic certifications from the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) of Switzerland.
The organic certification takes the company a step closer to buyers seeking to achieve environment compliance with the exacting Global Organic Textile Standard or GOTS, while compliance with IMO's Social and Fairtrade Programme will open up new markets for its fabrics by providing consumers the option of purchasing products according to their principles and values, the company said.
The Social and Fair Trade Certificate guarantees that disadvantaged producers in the developing world in the entire supply chain get a better deal by covering the producers' cost of sustainable production and establishing a Fairtrade Premium which is invested in social, economic or environmental improvement projects.
At the Fair Trade Audit conducted by IMO, Brandix Textiles achieved a performance rating of 214, well above the certification minimum of 172. The content of the IMO Social and Fairtrade Programme for which the company was certified covered respect for core labour rights, working conditions, administration of the Fairtrade premium and accountability as a trade partner.
The GOTS certification that is the next step for Brandix textiles is the definitive global certification for organic textiles and covers the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling, export, import and distribution of all natural fibres.
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