Ethical Code of Conduct – Mindful Manufacturing

We at Azarya believe in the how, where and by who our garments are manufactured and most importantly we by far consider that when it comes to an ethical code of conduct the top priority should always be the working environment & the safety of our employees. Strictly adhering to the before mentioned vision 90% of our garments are manufactured in Sri Lanka. After extensive research into how the factories in Sri Lanka are run we chose to align ourselves with a pre dominantly female operated factory based in Sri Lanka for the majority of our manufacturing with the remaining 10% of output being produced in China.

With the online retail & shipping branch of our brand based in Australia, we continue to maintain a physical presence in our factory in Sri Lanka and have always maintained an open line of dialogue with our staff both in Sri Lanka & Australia. From its inception, the brand, Azarya & its garments were manifested into existence within the already established garment industry in Sri Lanka.

The driving force behind the brand, Sabrina Herft, an already established fashion maven herself, who amassed a following shortly after being crowned Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Universe, has strong ties to the Sri Lankan community & although an Australian permanent resident she hails originally from Sri Lanka and now divides her time between the two countries in order to maintain transparency & direct communication within all the facets of the brand.

From day one her sole purpose when creating the brand was to have the majority of the garments being produced in Sri Lanka with the sole intention of empowering the female garment workers in the work force to be visible and not invisible giving them a voice to be seen, heard, understood and respected.

Feeling a strong sense of responsibility in giving back to the female workforce in the garment industry in a country that she considers home the factory used for the production is run by a female owner with over 50 years of experience in the garment business. The factory fosters a safe and healthy workplace thats free of discrimination, violence and harassment & together they set about in creating core values in an all inclusive equal pay for equal value, equality in leader ship, management & in decision making.

Women are for the most part marginalised into subordinate roles such as machine operators and checkers but within this factory the work force is encouraged to learn new skills & foster their education into higher paying jobs which require more knowledge and skill like pattern making and designing. Adjacent to this workshop is a Sri Lankan batik workshop this batik style is unique to Sri Lanka, we encourage our machine operators,cutters & the rest of our staff to learn the art of batik design and of the tie dying process which in turn widens their scope of employment in higher paying fields within the garment industry thereby  giving them a sense of more responsibility which in turn gives them an additional income.The majority of our staff are the sole income providers in their family having to not only work throughout the day but then go home cook,clean and take care of their children and ailing older family members which is common in Asian culture.

Since embarking on this new venture the most challenging issue we have encountered while recovering from the severe beating that we took during the pandemic and trying to making sure our employees were well taken care of was in March 2022 when Sri Lanka declared itself bankrupt after defaulting on its foreign debts of over 55 billion dollars which had a devastating impact on its citizens with shortages in food, fuel, electricity, gas etc. The apparel industry was the most affected with power cuts extending to 10-13 hours daily which meant that our workers would lose their daily wages. Due to the fuel shortages many were unable to travel to work. We tried to find a solution to this issue and worked hand in hand with the owner of our factory by paying for transportation for our workers, giving them more time to complete garments due to the electricity shortages and helped in keeping the morale of our employees high as the majority of our apparel workers are the primary care givers and earners in their families.

Child Labour will not be used

We have taken steps to ensure that there is no child labour within our facility and fully support and uphold the law of the country, which has outlawed child labour. Through the long-running Garments without Guilt campaign, the industry’s trade association, Sri Lanka Apparel has called attention to its adherence to ethical considerations, including its opposition to child labour. Sri Lanka Apparel is a signatory to 39 conventions of the International Labour Organization and is the only country with a significant manufacturing industry to do so.

Usage of Deadstock Fabric – The Newest Emerging Green Movement in Sustainable Fashion

Azarya has shifted its way of operation and is committed towards a circular model that sees waste as a supply source which in turn helps alleviate the industry’s hefty foot print on the planet.

The garment industry in Sri Lanka contributes to almost half of the country’s exports and employs around 15% of the country’s work force. Being one of the top apparel producing countries in the world for internationally recognised brands there is a constant remanence of a large amount of surplus fabric & discarded scraps which has aptly being coined deadstock.

In keeping with our belief to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet & being eco friendly, when designing our collections we always do our best to incorporate at least 60-70% of deadstock fabric bought and sourced from large factories with excess surplus fabric. The deadstock fabric we use is sustainable as it helps reduce our wastage as we are reusing materials that would otherwise go unused which in turn minimises our company’s demand for new textile production which would cause a negative impact on our environment.

By using deadstock fabric we are continuing to keep the materials in active use which prevents them from ending up in a landfill and thereby reducing their impact on the environment. Extending the life of a fabric by even 9 months reduces its carbon water and waste footprint by 20-30%. We champion creativity born out of environmental concern and action which in turn transforms leftover scraps into artistically crafted functional ready to wear garments.

The usage of deadstock fabric also saves water as creating new materials can be extremely water intensive and by using deadstock fabric we can reduce the demand for new fabrics and save water as a result.

By using this surplus fabric already in circulation we also reduce the carbon emission which comes from fabric production.

Care Instructions and Labelling of Azarya Garments

Whenever possible we use care labels on our garments with the wording ‘hand wash in cold water’ or ‘cold hand wash only’ as washing in hot water requires energy to be used thereby contributing to climate change.