THE HIRDARAMANI GROUP DEMONSTRATES RESPONSIBILITY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY

The Hirdaramani Group one of the key advocates at this week's Responsible Fashion Summit, once again actively reinforced its credentials as one of the country's most environmentally responsible companies through its renewed support of the Hiniduma Bio Link project.

For the second year in a row, Hirdaramani will join their international partner, the renowned clothing giant Patagonia to plant over 2,000 trees each in this groundbreaking sustainability initiative.

The key vision of the Responsible Fashion Summit is being responsible, staying accountable and keeping fashion clean. Every effort, collaboration and partnership leads to these goals while empowering all the stakeholders and creating an eco-system that facilitates changes in the industry towards the vision of responsible fashion.

Commenting on this initiative, Nikhil Hirdaramani - Director, Hirdaramani Group, said, "Projects like the Hiniduma Bio-link gives us an opportunity to advance the sustainable fashion agenda and to do so in a manner that also protects and advances the beauty of the country. The fashion industry unfortunately is one of the world's largest polluters, therefore it is vital for retailers, manufacturers, and all those involved in the supply chain to take the lead in building a more sustainable future."

The first of its kind in the Asian region the Hiniduma project seeks to connect geographically separated patches of threatened rainforest, in the southwest of Sri Lanka, which hosts some of the island's last few remaining rainforest ecosystems. The 'Hiniduma Biolink Project' is a CSR effort of the Carbon Consulting Company (CCC), to establish a biodiversity corridor between the two-large remnant disturbed rainforest patches and to conserve buffer zones around the forest edges through reforestation. The primary aim of this project is to reduce the pressure by local communities in the surrounding areas on the remaining rainforest patches, whilst as a secondary objective the project aims to enhance the livelihoods of traditional communities living in close proximity to tracts of natural forest where the biodiversity is high, but under imminent threat.

"We are greatly encouraged to have internationally recognized partners such as The Hirdaramani Group and its own partner Patagonia come forward to support the project for the second year running' said Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne - CEO, Carbon Consulting Company. "In joining the Hiniduma project, these companies have signaled their individual commitment to participate in long term, managed and measured sustainability initiatives to further their environmental causes. Getting support on this magnitude will encouraging more projects of this nature, which are going to be ever more vital in the fight against climate change.

About the Hirdaramani

Evolving from a single retail store established in the early 1900s, Hirdaramani is today a global business with 60,000+ associates and a diversified footprint that spans multiple industry sectors. A pioneer in the Sri Lankan apparel industry, Hirdaramani has a fully-integrated infrastructure, delivering an end-to-end supply chain solution to the industry via its state of the art factories. Hirdaramani's reputation for streamlined processes and high quality products is highlighted by its long-term partnerships with leading global brands.

The company has also led the way in the adoption of greener technologies and processes boasting the world's first custom built green apparel factory and Asia's first Carbon Neutral® apparel factory. Hirdaramani is a committed proponent of better businesses practices and has remained a champion of innovation and change in the apparel industry for over 100 years