Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Assessment in an Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The apparel industry contributes to a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s exports while the sector occupies 15% of the country’s employment. Apparel manufacturing is one of the most resource-consuming industries that generate vast amounts of waste. Energy and water consumption in the apparel industry are also significantly high. Therefore, this study aimed to identify proactive strategies to reduce pollution and generation of waste at the source by changing both processes and use of materials in an apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The study employed the cleaner production methodology developed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. In this study, material, energy and water were identified as the main input variables of the processes. The main output variables were produced garments, wastewater generation, and solid waste. With respect to the studied apparel manufacturing facility, the annual production capacity was 7748940 pieces in 2022. The average daily electricity and water consumption for the year 2022 were 0.103 kWh per piece and 0.0605 m3 per person, respectively. A volume of 0.039 m3 of wastewater has been generated per person. The total CO2 emission per day was 2.4 tCO2e. The highest portion of electricity is consumed by sewing machines and then by air compressors and air conditioners. Currently, generated solid waste is subjected to recycling. Water consumption practices determined by behavioral variables were identified as a major root cause of higher expenses for resource consumption which can be reduced by around 65% through reusing treated wastewater.