EU consumers now know who stitches their clothes

In line with new laws becoming effective this year in the European Union (EU), Sri Lanka's apparel industry is already working on ensuring their products can be traced to its origins including the entire supply chain process.

"If you scan the code on the tag fixed to the clothes you can check traceability - it's a step in the right direction of coming out with the upcoming legislation," Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) spokesman Yohan Lawrence told the Business Times.

The traceability standards adopted is GS1, the Global Standards that designs and manages the global supply chain system standards for the use of authentic barcodes that can be scanned electronically.

This will also allow for gender visibility which is the kind of information that is not available, it was noted.

Mr. Lawrence noted that they have been working on this for the past eight months and now the industry requires the legislative passage to ensure it becomes effective.

This code is able to let the consumers know the name of the person who sewed their garment as well, it was stated.

This is a unique solution to resolving the problem of disclosure, Mr. Lawrence said adding that this will ensure that the Sri Lankan apparel industry is ahead of the curve.

The use of a code to identify and trace the origins of the making of the garment is a solution to the 17 pieces of legislation coming into force that is in line with the IFRS reporting standards.

In today's business environment more and more companies invest in sustainable business activities. Investors want to understand how companies tackle issues such as climate change, gender diversity, or supply chain risks that may have a material impact on their business.

In this respect the sustainability disclosure standards will create reliable and comparable ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) data and disclosures, which is increasingly critical to attract capital and investors and prevent greenwashing or publicising false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice.

The IFRS Foundation and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards established the new sustainability and climate-reporting standards. The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure standards were launched in June 2023 and became effective from January 2024.