Report on MAS Intimates Thurulie Eco-Factory and Sustainability

The report details the opening of MAS Intimates Thurulie, the first eco-manufacturing plant for lingerie, located in Sri Lanka. This facility, a collaboration with Marks & Spencer (M&S), is designed to reduce carbon emissions and aims to achieve carbon neutrality. Key features include a large solar panel installation, mini-hydro power, and net-metering. The plant incorporates energy-efficient lighting, cooling systems, and eco-friendly construction materials to minimize environmental impact and reduce water and electricity usage. It also utilizes lean manufacturing principles, aiming to be the world’s first ‘lean’ and ‘green’ manufacturing facility. The report highlights the partnership between MAS and M&S, emphasizing their shared values and commitment to sustainability. The factory is expected to employ a significant number of people and sets a global benchmark for ethical, efficient, and sustainable manufacturing practices.

Friday 25 April, 2008
MAS Intimates Thurulie - the first Eco-factory for lingerie opens
MAS Holdings will today officially open MAS Intimates Thurulie, its eco-manufacturing
plant located at MAS Fabric Park, Thulhiriya, Sri Lanka. The plant will manufacture lingerie
for the UK high street retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S).
MAS Intimates Thurulie is the first lingerie manufacturing facility producing goods for M&S
which has been designed to reduce carbon emissions and aims to become carbon neutral.
It features the biggest installation of solar panels to date in Sri Lanka, which will provide
around 10% of the total electricity required for the plant. The remaining electricity will be
mini-hydro, sourced through a ‘green’ power agreement that MAS pioneered for Sri Lanka
earlier this month. The facility will also use ‘net-metering’ allowing the MAS fabric park to
utilize the solar electricity it generates when the factory is not in operation.
Dian Gomes, Group Director of MAS Intimates, expressed pride at his company’s union
with the M&S “green” initiative:
“Our relationship with M&S is based on the values we share. With Thurulie this long and
productive relationship finds new ground. When M&S launched Plan A, MAS was the first
to commit to the construction of an eco-apparel manufacturing facility. It was a
revolutionary venture – as always, MAS has forged ahead and set new standards. The
global environmental crisis cannot be ignored. MAS is proud to be a pioneer in finding
solutions. Thurulie is just the beginning of our eco journey.”
Sir Stuart Rose, Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer said:
“The MAS factory is a truly exciting development in clothing production. It really has been
a partnership of two like-minded companies, M&S and MAS, and will trial a completely
new approach to manufacturing and set standards for others to follow. Not only has it been
designed to be carbon neutral, use less electricity and less water than a similar scale
clothing factory, it will also produce great quality lingerie products – what our customers
would expect from M&S – whilst ensuring its workers are treated well through its leading
standards in employee welfare.”
In 2007, M&S announced ‘Plan A’, its company-wide ‘eco-plan’ in response to big issues
such as climate change and sustainable sourcing. One of the commitments within Plan A is
to support the development of ‘green’ factories with its suppliers. M&S has supported the
development of the MAS Intimates plant through advice from its store development team in
the UK and sponsorship of the solar panels and the architects’ design costs.

Features of the new MAS Intimates plant include:
• the use of extensive daylight to help light the premises;
• energy efficient lighting and LED based task lights reduce the energy used for
lighting;
• low energy cooling systems to replace air conditioning. Other cooling measures
include ’green’ roofs (roof with vegetation on top), cool roofs (roof with high solar
reflectivity), and strategically positioned courtyards with wide arrays of greenbelts
to cool the microclimate. ‘Eco’ bricks were also used in construction to help
maintain a cool interior.
These combined features will enable the facility to save around 40% on electricity
compared to a similar scale factory. It will also reduce its water usage by approximately
50% by capturing rainwater to be used in toilet facilities, waste water management systems
and ‘low-flow’ fixtures.
Other notable features include:
• part of the construction is on stilts to avoid excavation of the earth during
construction and to aid natural rain flow;
• cement-stabilized-earth walkways and roads;
• anaerobic digestion sewage treatment facility with bio-gas captured for the kitchen.
MAS Intimates Thurulie will also become the world’s first ‘lean’ and ‘green’ manufacturing
facility, designed for MAS’s lean manufacturing standard MOS. Based on the renowned
Toyota Production System, the MAS Operating System (MOS) is geared towards the
elimination of waste both in material and process in order to achieve higher efficiencies.
MAS Holdings CEO Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean declared that “We have always
excelled in ethical business practices and MAS Intimates Thurulie brings in the
environmental focus to complement our excellent work in social sustainability. Today MAS
has set a tough global benchmark to show what the future of manufacturing will be –
ethical, efficient and sustainable.”
MAS Intimates Thurulie will initially employ 520 people and it expects this figure to rise to
1,300 employees by 2010.
- Ends -
For media enquiries, please contact:
Vidhura Ralapanawe,
Manager, Sustainability & Communications, MAS Intimates.
[phone]
[e-mail]
Cont…/

About MAS:
MAS Holdings, an innovation focused company, is one of the region’s largest
suppliers of Intimate apparel and Active wear. Operating in five countries with
over 44000 employees, the company is a vertically integrated apparel service
provider to its strategic vendors such as Victoria’s Secret, Nike, Speedo and
M&S.