The year 2024 was an important one, as we were on our final stretch in terms of ensuring all necessary initiatives were lined up to achieve our 2025 commitments, whilst also looking ahead to the next phase of our Plan for Change strategy. It was important to ensure that we remain both pragmatic and ambitious in our vision and commitments, taking us to 2030, equipped and to influence and lead the change that our industry needs.

It was also a year where there was an unprecedented slowdown in the markets that we serve, putting pressure on the businesses and managing competing priorities. Through this period, MAS has been able to stay on course with our purpose to “be changemakers, enabling dreams and enriching the fabric of life on our planet”, whilst driving the Plan for Change forward.

Powering Circularity

This year, we were able to continue the progress on our commitment to create more sustainable products and increase our sustainable product revenue by continuing to converting our core programmes into more sustainable raw material. Decarbonisation of our raw material remains the number one priority on our sustainable product efforts, while also recognising that giving our brands and their consumers products that they know are better for the planet, is equally important in order to create that much needed paradigm shift in fashion.

Powering circularity and enabling it to scale, continue to be mission critical, and this year we partnered with Los Angeles based startup, Ambercycle, by committing to an offtake for of their textile-to-textile recycled polyester yarn, Cycora. This 3-year offtake agreement will enable and further strengthen the MAS’ sustainable product pipeline, while allowing us to be a strong partner to our brands, especially in meeting the upcoming European Union regulations on eco design.

Following our engagement with Heiq Aeoniq™ last year as an alternative to petroleum-based yarns and now with Ambercycle’s Cycora yarn, we have progressed in growing our portfolio within the circularity space, being a true partner to help companies and start-ups reach a viable scale.

Our Talent and Our People

From the early days, guided by our founders, MAS has always run our business with our people at the heart of all that we do. We believe in the power of partnerships and focusing on deep and lasting relationships both within our own operations, and with our extended communities.

Our strengthened efforts in 2024 resulted in empowering our women by creating over 300,000 empowerment opportunities and focussing on our endeavour to increase the representation of women in management within our Organisation, by expanding initiatives such as unconscious bias training, gender smart communication, and improving childcare facilities and support to all employees.

We pride ourselves as an equal opportunity employer, embracing diversity, inclusion and creating and implementing employment supporting model to enable persons with disabilities to thrive in our Organisation. It was a proud moment when we won the Zero-Project Award for the MAS supported employment process as an exemplary practice in disability inclusive employment.

The Eco Go Beyond Sustainable Schools Programme remains our flagship community engagement initiative which focusses on one of the most important segments of our community, our youth and students, enabling the next generation to become changemakers in their communities.

We have been successfully operating in the sustainable education space for the last 18 years and we are privileged to have been given the opportunity by the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO, to share our learnings and best practices as the knowledge partner in the development of the implementation strategy for the UNESCO Green Schools Standard 2030 for Sri Lanka.

Changing our planet for good

Everything we do on product and in our communities, is focused on ensuring that we leave our environment and our planet healthier better and more resilient.

As the climate unceasingly breaks down and global instability intensifies, our purpose becomes more important and increasingly urgent.

Our primary focus is on meeting our science-based emission targets while continuing to reduce our energy intensity. While becoming more productive in our processes is key in the energy and emissions space, we are heavily reliant on external factors such as regional and government policies that will have a large part to play in our journey to achieve net zero.

This year we focused on areas that are within our control such as optimising our rooftops’ capacity for solar and expediting the roll out of certified sustainable biomass.

As part of our efforts in circularity, we were able to convert and divert 10% of our fabric waste back into the apparel supply chain, while continuing to ensure none of our waste goes to landfill and as much as 65% of raw material waste was value enhanced.

Expanding our biodiversity efforts to Indonesia was another key highlight of 2024 where we are focusing on the reforestation of 8,500 acres. This is a key step in ensuring our biodiversity efforts are global.

Conclusion

We have been able to progress in all our key commitments due to the steadfast commitment of our teams who truly embrace and live their purpose. We look forward to 2025 as the conclusion of our first phase of the Plan for Change and completing the initiatives we have lined up to successfully achieve the vision we have for 2025.

Nemanthie Kooragamage
Director – Group Sustainable Business
MAS Holdings