Hayleys Fabric PLC as an ecofriendly fabric supplier committed to enhance environmental sustainability. Company is certified with ISO 14001:2015 environment management system. Our aim to avoid, minimize and mitigate environmental impacts throughout our manufacturing process.

Biodiversity

We believe that rich biodiversity plays a vital role in creating a healthy and sustainable environment.

Hayleys Fabric is committed to conversing and promoting biodiversity at our manufacturing plant, and we continually encourage our employee and stakeholders to do the same.

Green Belt and Wetland

Biodiversity Zone

The Eco friendly culture and the value placed on protecting and appreciating the environment at Hayleys Fabric PLC, resulted in A 20-acre rubber land adjacent to the factory premises to be reserved as a green belt. In addition to this, 8 acres has been designated a wetland biodiversity zone under the guidance of Biodiversity Division of the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment.

Large populations of fauna and flora have been observed including indigenous flora, native plants, butterfly species, dragonfly species, other insect species, wetlands and other wet zone birds, few small mammals, reptiles and amphibian species. Evidence suggests the existence of number of other nocturnal species like fishing cat and other fauna which are inhabitant for this area. A Biodiversity Survey Report has been commissioned in collaboration with the Central Environment Authority (CEA) Forestry Department and is expected to be released early 2020/21.

Organic Farming

We educate our employees on the importance of creating a sustainable environment.

Our staff are engaged in organic farming to demonstrate the importance of maintaining the long-term fertility of the soil, as it’s one of the most important resources. In our organic farm we aim, as far as possible, for a closed system. External inputs and waste outputs are kept at a minimum. The harvest of the organic farm is shared among staff, themselves.

Energy

We aim to reduce our energy use by introducing energy efficiencies in to our operations.

Reducing the amount of energy we use can help us to minimize our carbon footprint and would provide economic incentives, as energy accounts for a significant portion of our cost of production. We continuously look for ways to make our operations more energy efficient by reducing the amount of energy we need to produce our fabric.

Energy management is a key focus area and a number of initiatives have been taken to shift to a greener source of energy. We have taken measures to minimize the usage of energy through the following actions.

• Reduce Furnace oil consumption by shifting to greener source of energy, such as Biomass
• Power factor correction
• Rationalization of Boilers and the regular Tuning of Burners
• Introduction of Variable frequency motors and drives to reduce power consumption
• Insulate Pipes, Valves, and Flanges
• Optimizing the Compressed air system
• Eliminating inefficient lighting and increasing use of energy efficient lighting and natural light
• Introduction of new energy efficient production machinery

HF’s Energy Policy elaborates on the requirement within our code of conduct to develop and sustain an energy management system.

Water

We recognize the importance of managing fresh water use and water discharges in our manufacturing process.

Water is a material aspect to Hayleys Fabric, as our fabrics cannot be produced without significant quantities of water, especially in the dyeing process. Consequently, every effort is been made to ensure that we minimize the usage of water in a conscious manner.

Hayleys Fabric withdraws fresh water from the river - Kalu Ganga, that runs adjacent to the factory. We evaluate the risks of wastewater disposal and the long-term social and environmental impacts on use of local water resources. Number of measures have been taken to minimize the water withdrawal and efforts have been made to maintain the quality of discharged water below regulatory requirements.

Greenhouse Gas emissions

Hayleys Fabric consumes a significant amount of energy in our production process. We aim to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through operational energy efficiency, reductions in flaring and venting, and by factoring a carbon cost into our investment appraisals. Reduction in furnace oil consumption through improving Boiler efficiencies and introduction of Battery operated material handling equipment are some of the measures we have taken.

Waste Management

Disposal of waste impacts the communities we live-in and the environment.

Effluent disposal

Hayleys Fabric over the years has continuously made investments to upgrade our effluent treatment facility. All treated water is checked in house. Regular checks are carried out by external independent agencies such as the Central Environment Authority (CEA), the Water Board and the Board of Investment (BOI) to ensure that the water we discharge to the environment is harmless.

Solid waste

Solid waste has a significant impact on the environment degradation caused by landfills and contamination of soil. We, Hayleys Fabric, do not dispose solid waste directly. Waste from our water treatment plant is collected by Geo Cycle for safe disposal.

Waste yarn and fabric is inevitable in the fabric manufacturing process. We don’t use them for landfilling. These waste yarns and fabrics are sold to villagers for a nominal value, who uses them for cottage industries, such as making wicks for oil lamps, rugs and other products. This has facilitated development of livelihoods for people in the village making articles for household use.

Our Commitment to Reducing Plastic Waste

Plastic pollution is one of today’s most pressing environmental concerns. As a responsible corporate, the Company has initiated projects to curb plastic waste by advocating - reduce, reuse and recycle – of plastic, as follows;

Development and manufacture of polyester fabric from recycled polyester yarn, produced using PET bottle waste collected from the shores of Sri Lanka.

• Encourage employees to collect PET bottles for recycling. Collection bins have been set up within factory premises for this purpose. 6kg of PET bottles were collected in the first month of launch.
• Conduct of awareness programs to educate employees on plastic pollution.
• Replacement of laminated sample hanger with a hanger produced out of recycled paper.
• Replacement of plastic sample bag with a reusable non-woven bag made out of recycled materials. Customers to return the bags within a reasonable time period, for re-use.
• Provide all employees and customers a reusable glass water bottle as an alternative to plastic bottle.
• Collaboration with an SME partner who recycles waste polythene packaging received with materials.
• Imported and sells back to Hayleys Fabric PLC for use as packaging material 109 MT of polythene was.
• Recycled during the year in this manner, saving USD 18,069.
• Plastic tubes used in fabric rolls are recovered from local customers and reused. 77% of tubes were reused, saving 88 MT of plastic waste.
• Use of cardboard tubes, not plastic tubes in delivery of fabric rolls to export customers.
• Replacement of polythene with eco-friendly taffeta in stillages /bins to protect raw fabric.

Sustainable Raw Materials

Cotton and polyester yarns are the main two raw materials we use. Our aim is to source all cotton yarns from sustainable sources and to source recycled polyester for synthetic fabric we produce. We at Hayleys Fabric encourage our customers to use sustainable raw materials that come from sustainable sources, such as Better Cotton, Organic cotton and Recycled cotton, at all times.

Responsible Innovation

As a synthetic fabric manufacturer, materials such as polyester which is a product based with petrochemicals, negatively impacts the environment. With it’s biodegradable period spans up to 200 years at worst, the company took the initiative to work with a yarn manufacture to use re-cycled yarns from pet bottles collected from our sea shores. Recycling PET bottles will divert waste from landfill and reduce the production of virgin polyester. Apart from manufacturing recycled polyester fabric, Hayleys Fabric PLC is collaborating with partners to find innovative solutions to reduce the negative environmental impact of polyester, such as highlighted in the diagram.

Chemicals

The company strongly believes the importance of having a robust chemical management system. Safer Inputs, Good Procedures within the Process, Output Monitoring are three ways that company looking at the chemical management system. Hayleys Fabric PLC is committed to work with the vision, “to be the responsible & active partner of its buyers in their initiation towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (ZDHC) for all products across all pathways in supply chain”

ZDHC and Waste Water Treatment

Hayleys Fabric PLC has joined the “Roadmap to Zero Programme”, overseen by ZDHC Foundation as a value chain affiliate, in a clear step towards minimising its chemical footprint to achieve a toxic free fashion industry. These efforts will enable Hayleys Fabric to further support the programme’s vision to establish a widespread implementation of its sustainability initiatives, whilst driving innovation and best practices in the textiles, apparel and footwear industries.

Read full article

Our modern water treatment plant utilizes enhanced purification methodology to ensure good quality water is consistently discharged to the adjacent river. All treated water is checked in house once in two hours and regular checks are carried out by external agencies such as the Central Environment Authority (CEA), the Water Board and the Board of Investment (BOI).

Our commitment to high ethical standards and sustainability is reflected in our ability to comply with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme, by 2017, ahead of the granted timeline of 2020. ZDHC is a group of global apparel and footwear brands, chemical suppliers, manufacturers and other organisations working together to lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020, by driving responsible chemical management.

In recognition of Hayleys Fabric PLC's award-winning achievement in complying with ZDHC requirements ahead of time, the Company was invited to share their best practices at the 2019 ZDHC South Asia regional conference in Mumbai. Further in 2020, the Company continued to attend this regional conference which was held in Bangladesh.

Another accolade confirming the consistent maintenance of superior standards of water quality is the awarding of GREEN status by NIKE Since 2016, the highest rating for compliance with stringent NIKE Water Quality Guidelines under the NIKE Sustainable Water.