The value of the sector reached $5.42 billion after fashion exports rose 22.93 percent year-on-year in 2021, according to provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.

Clothing exports from the South Asian island nation increased by 25.7 percent and exports of woven fabrics surged by 99.84 percent year-on-year. Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit, Hirdaramani Group director Aroon Hirdaramani said the country’s apparel sector would target exports worth $8 billion by 2025 by increasing investment in local supply chains.

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Human Rights Violations Are Increasing in Fashion’s Manufacturing Hubs

For many workers in fashion’s global supply chain, the last 18 months have been a period of crisis. But the worsening of labour rights abuses did not start with the pandemic, found a new report published by risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, but had been already happening over the last four years.