Introduction

Climate change and the environment are the some of the biggest issues facing the world today.
Greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, are the major contributing factor global warming. The
majority of energy-related greenhouse gases were emitted in the production and consumption of goods
and services for the purpose of household final consumption, including the storage and transportation
of these. Although it is consumption of the individual that fuels these emissions, as awareness
increases and the consumer looks to become accountable for their own carbon footprint, the
environmental impact of a product will move up in importance on their list of decision making criteria.
This will move the pressure back to the businesses providing their goods and services, making a lean,
green supply chain a competitive advantage. Companies that have made a proactive move to a green
supply chain now, rather than waiting for regulations to force change, have discovered that the benefits
go beyond a competitive advantage, by discovering new cost efficiencies.

Companies that pro-actively increase investment in technologies and operations for lean and
green supply chain will be positioning themselves well for the future as the costs of materials and
energy continue to grow as the world economy expands, public pressure for environmental, health, and
safety performance remain strong, awareness of the 3BL grows (Triple Bottom-Line reporting:
concerning the relationship of profit, people, and the planet), people’s growing antipathy to
globalization is leading to strong nongovernmental organization activity regarding businesses’
sustainable performance. In the context of the present situation in Sri Lanka, these reasons in the
garment and textile industry, it is questionable whether every factory has the ability of moving towards
green manufacturing since it involves extra capital, time as well as proper planning. It will be very
useful for garment factories a model/ system is develop (including a methodical plan) to find out
efficient and effective method to transform existing garment factories under green
manufacturing. Therefore this is an exercise to develop a method to find out the ability of garment
factories for moving towards green manufacturing and to which extend they should utilize the existing
resources optimally considering the current green manufacturing requirements.

Background

Going green is the transformation of moving into a socially and environmentally enterprise that
delivers measurable benefits. These benefits can affect the company, the consumer, their communities,
and their shareholders. Hence organizations have taken on a more enlightened and strategic viewpoint
that there may exist competitive advantages from appropriate environmental strategies. Some of these
advantages may arise from reactive measures, such as responses to regulatory policy, ISO 14000
(Porter and Van der Linde, 1995). These advantages may also arise from such more proactive
measures as green marketing, technology development, reduction in wastes; promote research and
design and minimization of products’ harmful effects.

Manufacturing giants such as IBM, Toyota, BP, BASF, Apple Computer and many of the
world’s leading producers have incorporated sustainable manufacturing as a major enterprise-wide
initiative. As far as we know there are some Sri Lankan 'green' garment manufacturing plants which
supply clothing to M&S stores. Some of these plants are owned by two of Sri Lanka's biggest garment
producers, Brandix Lanka and MAS_Holdings and two such plants namely Brandix Casualwear at
Seeduwa & MAS Intimates Thurulie, a new lingerie factory located in the MAS Fabric Park at
Thulhiriya.

As mentioned in the ‘ website just-style.com’ the conversion cost of the Brandix Casualwear
factory was LKR270m, in the first month itself, electricity costs reduced by 48%, and in the second
month they went down by 51%, according to AJ Johnpillai, a director of Brandix. In addition the
Brandix factory claims to have reduced overall energy consumption by 43%, water consumption by
58% and carbon emissions by 77%. The factory has also eliminated all waste that previously went into
land fills.

Goals & Objectives

Main Objective

Develop an efficient system /model to transform existing garment manufacturing factories in to

a green environment.

Sub objectives

1. Visiting, conducting literary surveys in order to have an understanding on the current

industrial aspects and green manufacturing methods.

2. Develop a system which would help us asses the current factories

3. Develop a system to transform

Literature Survey
The word green is associated with environment and it is voluntary pursuit of any activity that
encompasses the concern for energy efficiency, environmental management, water management,
renewable energy and recycling. Major areas that are identified under the green concept can be stated
as follows.
• Green Purchasing
• Green Manufacturing
• Green Transportation & Logistics

Different views are expressed on the definition/description of green manufacturing and some
can be expressed as follows.

• Green manufacturing is a philosophy rather than an adopted process or standard and it is a

strategic priority.
• Green manufacturing is about choices in manufacturing methods that support and sustain a
renewable way of producing products and/or services that do no harm to you or the
environment. (www.simplysoap.com/Green%20Manufacturing.htm)
• Green manufacturing addresses every aspect of manufacturing, including information
decisions, process technologies, energy consumption, material selection, and material flow.
A lot of the decisions manufacturers make are related to cost, function, and quality. Now
they are adding another dimension, which is sustainability. .”
(http://www.mbtmag.com/article/CA6546124.html)

• Green manufacturing is a method for manufacturing that minimizes waste and pollution.
The goal of green manufacturing is to support future generations by attaining sustainability.
Manufacturing resources are sustained by the means of preserving natural resources. This is
done mainly through product process and design. Product design includes the definition of
the product architecture or build and the testing of a system for production.
(http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/manufacturing/cat_green_manufacturing.html)

As mentioned in the background there are only three green implemented garment factories
which two of them provide clothing to M&S. They also have implemented green due to the concept of
“making whole supply chain green” by their customer M&S. These factories can categorized in to two
as transformed factories and newly developed factories. Brandix Casualwear at Seeduwa was the only
transformed factory. During the visit there we gathered information on their key focused areas and
things they have done during the conversion process.
Key focused areas include
• Optimizing Energy Use(Reduce the usage of electricity and introduce energy efficient
technologies)
In order to optimize the energy use they have used
-sky lights where 3% of the roof area has been covered from this,
-LED task lights
-place windows to get the sunlight in to the working area during day time
-evaporate cooling air conditioning system
-use renewable tech

• Solid Waste management

Solid materials such as plastic, cardboard are recycles and reused (95% solid waste
recycled)
• Carbon Foot Print( Reduce CO2 and other green house gas emissions)

• Waste Water Management (water recycle/reuse /waste water treatment)

-Rain water harvesting tanks (75% of water coming through the roof is used)
-The waste water treatment plant treats and enables to reuse 100% of the waste water
generated from the factory

During a personal interview with Mr. Vidura Ralapanawa, who is in charge of the Thuruli
Project, information was gathered on key factors which been focused by them and it can be
summarized as follows.

• Atmosphere
-enabling extensive day lighting using glass walls in the plant

-building design and vegetation reduces the heat impact on the building

-installation of energy efficient Evaporating cooling systems

• Resource Efficiency

-water management process leverages 100% water retention properties

-bio gas is used in kitchens and solids are used as composites

-moving towards zero defects

• Local Ecology
 Environment friendly construction processes

• Building:

-Innovative green roof with vegetation

-East west orientation reduces heat from direct sunlight

-Ecobricks, glasses, steel with high recycled content

• Energy:

-Use of renewable energy (solar cells, solar water heaters)

-LED based task lighting and energy efficient equipments reduces energy usage by 40%
than a comparable factory

- Creation of extremely efficient lighting solution using Day light/motion sensors

-Reduction of transport related CO2 emission

We came to know about accredited professional bodies such as LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design),ANSI(American National Standard Institute), and ASHRAE(American
society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-condition Engineers) who have certified green implemented
factories to guarantee minimum levels of sustainable practices are adopted by them according to their
pre-set standards. Brandix Casualwear at Seeduwa has currently awarded as a platinum rated factory
by LEED which is best rated according to their rating system. LEED is one of the most common rating
systems developed by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide scores for green buildings.
LEED breaks the certification process into components and offers points in each category (by using
specific practices or certain materials) to measure overall performance. A LEED rating namely
Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum is based on the number of points obtained by the organization;

Certified—45 points
silver—60 points
Gold—75 points
platinum—90 points

6 main categories which are considered when offering scores in LEED system

• Innovation and Design-Considers innovative measures as design methods, regional credits, and
exemplary performance Innovations that would integrate best practices of everyone on the team.
• Sustainable Sites -Uses the entire property to minimize project’s impact on the site
• Water Efficiency-Water conservation practices, indoor and outdoor, that are built into the home
• Energy and Atmosphere- Optimization of energy efficiency in well insulated, tight
building envelope with efficient heating and cooling systems
• Materials and Resources -Reduction of material waste during construction and selection of green
products
• Indoor Air Quality-Improvement of indoor air quality by reducing air pollution with Energy Star
appliances, installation methods and ventilation measures.

Non-garment case studies

We went through case studies related to green manufacturing organizations out side the
garment industry in order to get an idea on how they have successfully converted their manufacturing
process to environment friendly manner. We specifically focused on the key factors/indicators they
have used, the benefits they have gained and whether those indicators are applicable to garment
industry.

3M Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability

3M is a corporation who manufacture tapes, optical films, reflective sheeting, ceramic fibers
etc. 3M has been focusing on preventing pollution in the first place rather than removing or treating it
later. 3P (Pollution Prevention Pays) is a key element of 3M’s environmental strategy and is moving
towards sustainability. 3P program targets key environmental metrics: VOC (Volatile Organic
Compound) emissions, TRI releases, water releases, waste generation, energy consumption and green
house gas emissions. They have also been pioneer in the use of Lean Six Sigma methods and tools to
improve operations and quality. Lean Six Sigma has helped to strengthen 3P program at 3M. It has
established new set of corporate environmental goals such as reducing volatile air emissions, improve
energy efficiency, and reduce waste and implementing 800 3P projects.

General Motors Corporation

Lean initiatives have long been a part of strategy of General Motors. It is using several of these
initiatives to achieve sustainability goals, ranging from less use of packaging, less use of harmful
solvents, reduced need for painting and reduced production of waste. They have conducted several lean
projects on different aspects of their business which in turn have created many environmental savings.
One of their automotive plants called “Tennessee” receives more than 95% of its parts in reusable
containers. This system has eliminates tons of packing wastes each year and reduces the space, cost,
energy needs of managing such wastes.They also have used more efficient cleaning techniques and
solvent recycling which have decreased the use of purge solvent by 3/8 of a gallon per vehicle. This
has resulted VOC emissions by 369 tons in the first year it self.
 • Delta Electronics India

The world's largest provider of switching power supplies and DC brushless fans has stepped towards
for sustainability. The company has made use of various energy efficient technologies. Natural Light
Harvesting saves electricity and reduces carbon emission by 36800 Lb every year. Turbo Ventilation
saves electricity and saves 55200 Lb carbon emission every year. The solar panels installed in the plant
reduce Green House Gas emission by 5mn Lb. The linear panel polynum insulation saves electric
energy due to minimum requirement of forced cooling. The 37,016.6sqm factory provides an
ecologically sensitive, energy-saving, waste reducing and a healthy environment for the local
population. The Sewage Treatment Plant has been put up to recycle and reuse of water. It functions on
Anaerobic Bacterial action and the water is used for non-contact applications. Storm water harvesting
is also carried out to conserve water.

• FedEx Express Corporation

This is a new energy efficient distribution center launched by FedEx Express in Antwerp, which is a
logistics services company, based in the US.They have established a new energy-efficient facility
which fully equips to load and unload thirty delivery vans simultaneously, representing a 25% increase
in capacity. The facility's energy efficient solutions include an air-water heat pump that reduces energy
consumption by more than 40% and CO2 emissions by more than 60%, and ventilation and building
automation system that allows each room to be lighted and heated separately. Other features of this
center include low-energy light bulbs throughout the facility and recycled water for washing vehicles.
The facility's location is strategically selected to reduce driving time by providing immediate access to
highways and public transportation.

From the literature survey we have done so far we have understood the following facts.

• Sri Lankan garment manufacturers have mainly concentrated in implementing green

manufacturing through the construction and design of buildings
• Foreign non-garment manufacturers are more focused on making their existing manufacturing
process green through adapting modern business manufacturing techniques. They are more interested
in gaining production gains and manufacturing gains. They use techniques such as Value Stream
Mapping (VSM) to identify the environmental impacts in each stage of their manufacturing process
and conduct projects to reduce those impacts and continuously monitor them.
 LEAN GREEN

Min Inventory
Reduce usage of raw materials

Reduce WIP
Min Defects

Reduce Waste

• Sri Lankan garment manufacturing factories also adopts some of the modern manufacturing
techniques such as lean manufacturing and new technologies but they do not consider the
environmental aspects of those. They have separated their environmental policies and programs from
their manufacturing process and haven’t taken any measures to combine both aspects of environment
and manufacturing.

During our visits to non green implemented and discussions with industry expertise we have found
out following examples of manufacturing practices adopted by them which in turn also related to
green manufacturing philosophies .

Energy saving

1. Reduce energy consumption in working area by using energy efficient LED task lights.
2. ‘Chalk’ of tube lights which reflect significant amount of heat has been replaced with
electronic blasts.
3. Sensors are attached to over lock machines to sense and enable provide compressed air only
when it is needed

Solid waste management

1. Recycling solid waste such as poly bags, write off fabrics, plastic and cardboard are given
to external parties
2. Write off fabrics are used to produce reusable bags which can be used to store cut panels
after cutting process until they are used for the production

Waste water management

 1. Waste water is subjected to treatment processes in order to remove hazardous chemicals
before their disposing to local sewer
2. Waste water which are used for manufacturing process are reused for toilets and
gardening purposes after a treatment process.

• When the current context is considered with regard to the garment industry, most of the
factories in Sri Lankan is struggling to maintain their stability and cuts down their manufacturing
cost while maintaining the required quality level. Hence they would not like and it would not be safe
for them to invest heavily on building up new green manufacturing plants. It would be more
beneficial for them to concentrate to green their manufacturing process with minimum investments.
• All the factors considered in green manufacturing processes are not relevant for the garment
manufacturing process.

Identified Factors

 Renewable energy: Solar power, Biofuels, Geothermal Hydro power, Tidal power,
Wind power
 Energy saving machinery/equipment : Motors , Drives , Conveyors , Processing Equipment
 Water treatment : Industrial Waste Management , Waste Water Treatment Equipment and
Processes
 Packaging: Bio-Compostable Packaging, Recyclable Packaging, Reusable Packaging, Bio-
Polymer Packaging
 Recycling: Recycling (glass, steel, paper) Equipment, Plastics Recycling Equipment
 CO2 emission
 Indoor air quality
 References:

• Sarkis, J, 2001, Manufacturing's role in corporate environmental sustainability - Concerns for the new
millennium, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Volume21, Number 5/6,
pages 666-686
• Gonza´ lez-Benito J, Gonza´ lez-Benito O. A review of determinant factors of environmental
proactivity. Business Strategy and the Environment 2006;15:87–102.
• San Jose´ JT, et al. Quantification of industrial building projects sustainability. Ninth European
roundtable on sustainable consuption and production, erScp'2004. Bilbao (Spain).
• Annandale D. Developing and evaluating environmental impact assessment systems for small
developing countries. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 2001;19(3):187 e93.
• www.juststyle.com
• www.epa.gov/lean/studies/3m.htm
• http://www.epa.gov/lean/studies/gm.htm