Sri Lanka, has emerged as a major textile and apparel exporter. In its efforts to build a $1 billion textile and garment export industry, Sri Lanka has formed an institution with an objective to cater to the demands of garment manufacturers in the country. The body popularly known as ‘Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel’ (SLITA) has engaged in promoting Sri Lankan garments worldwide. As per Navaz Musthafa, Director General, SLITA, the idea behind the formation of the institute is the country’s efforts to regain GPS Plus status. 

Empowering young Sri Lankans in fashion

“The SLITA has been established after merging the Institute of Textile Training and Service Centre and Clothing Industry Training Institute under the Parliament Act No. 12 in 2009. The newly carved out SLITA offers study programs complied based on the needs of students in Sri Lanka’s while keeping industry relevance. Under the new Act, SLITA works under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. It is empowered to award diploma, degrees at UG and PG level,” says Musthafa. 

SLITA promotes its activities globally. “We want to give an opportunity to the Sri Lankan textile and apparel sector to be a part of our marketing campaign. SLITA supports Sri Lankan textile and apparel activities worldwide. It provides resource personnel to the textile and garment industry,” he explained. 

The institute provides fast track and cutting edge education to professionals for managing the apparel industry in a competitive era. The institute has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with leading industries such as North Carolina State University, Bunka Fashion College, Japan. The institutes mandate is to create technical and management professional who can understand the dynamics of global business environment for industry.

SLITA also maintains a data base of information relating to products, import and exports and other technical information relating to the textile and apparel industry.

Musthafa sums up, “Garment and textile is a very important sector in Sri Lanka. Our exports are worth more than $5 billion and we want increase it to $6 billion. We want to get back the GSP Plus tariff which we lost and want to reopen closed garment units in our country.”