Embassy of the United States

Letters and Speeches

Ambassador's Remarks to Ceremonial Opening of Textured Jersey Lanka

March 10, 2008 Seethawaka Industrial Park, Avissawella

Ladies and Gentleman, I'm honored that my good friend Ashroff Omar, CEO of Brandix, asked me to join you this morning on the occasion of the ceremonial opening of the new Textured Jersey Lanka facility here in Avissawella.  This is an important occasion, not just for Brandix and its partners, but also as a mark of progress toward greater integration in Sri Lanka's apparel industry.  By bringing fabric production on shore, you are diversifying the industry and reducing costs.  These together will enhance your efficiency and competitiveness.

Already, the apparel industry represents the leading edge of manufacturing success in Sri Lanka.  Companies like Brandix, and now Textured Jersey Lanka, demonstrate the potential for firms in other domestic industries to make it big as exporters of top quality manufactured goods.  

Brandix and its fellow apparel firms can be proud of the vital role they play in Sri Lanka's economy.  Garment exports had another great year in 2007, generating 3.3 billion dollars, or over 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s total 7.7 billion dollars in exports.  In fact, the United States bought about half of those garments, so there is no question but that the United States and Sri Lanka are in this business together.

And I feel good about that, because I know that Sri Lanka’s garment sector leads the world in its high ethical production standards.  Your Garments without Guilt campaign captures the principles of fair wages, good working conditions, and sound environmental practices that I know from my own factory visits that Brandix and others are truly committed to. 

Those strong ethical standards distinguish Sri Lanka from many other garment producing countries and, I believe, will become ever more important as a selling point for your products in this highly competitive industry.

Indeed, one reason why I am especially happy to be here is because I understand that this new facility uses state of the art technology to make its production processes environmentally sound.  I love the outdoors and have traveled widely to Sri Lanka’s beautiful parks, mountains and beaches.  I appreciate that Sri Lanka – the Pearl of the Indian Ocean – is blessed with pristine rivers, magnificent forests, and great biodiversity.  But Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose those resources as it builds its industrial capacity.  This facility demonstrates that there does not have to be a trade-off between environmental preservation and industrial growth. 

I was impressed to read recently about the construction bricks that Brandix developed using waste materials from its garment washing, dyeing and finishing processes.  These so-called “sludge” bricks are the kind of innovation that proves that environmentally sound production is not just the right thing to do, it is also good business, because it can save money both in production and in lower clean-up costs. 

Environmental sustainability is also good business because your main customers, in Europe and the U.S. especially, are increasingly interested in buying “green” products – and garments are no exception.
                                              
This may raise a question in some minds though: what if consumers in Europe and the United States are "feeling the pinch" in their incomes?  Will they still look for the kind of quality and guilt-free garments that come out of Sri Lanka?

I think the best way to answer that is to consider a little more carefully the economic conditions we see right now.  Let's take the United States economy, which I know best.

I know the “R” word  -- recession -- is on the minds of many in the apparel industry.  There have been some pretty alarming headlines in the business pages lately.  It is true that the U.S. economy has been hurt by the sub-prime loan crisis, and that it appears to be entering a period of slower growth.  Notice I say slower growth.  A recession is by no means a certain development at this point.  Actually, not only the U.S. Federal Reserve, but even the International Monetary Fund both expect U.S. growth to be positive in 2008.

It’s true, however, that growth will be well below the great numbers we have had in the last six years.  But let me tell you, that six year period was pretty fantastic.  The United States economy grew at an average of 2.7 percent a year since 2001.  That may not sound like a lot to Sri Lankans who have been looking at 6-7 percent growth recently, but it is a very healthy level for a large developed economy.

We have had 52 straight months of job growth -- our longest period of uninterrupted employment growth ever.  Americans’ average income rose by 3,700 dollars per person during that time.  And I will tell you, many of us go into stores like Ann Taylor or Victoria's Secret to spend that new income on garments from Sri Lanka!

Thus, as you assess the global economy and the impact of recent financial troubles, I think it worth keeping in mind that the United States is in very strong shape to weather an economic slowdown.  Our unemployment rate remains low, our productivity is high, and our trade gap is narrowing thanks to rising exports.

Making predictions about the economy can be a risky endeavor, but one I feel confident in is that the United States will continue to be a dynamic contributor to global growth for a long time to come.  And it is also safe to expect that U.S. consumers will continue to be the big spenders that exporting nations like Sri Lanka so love.

So again, as I noted a few moments ago, the United States and Sri Lanka are definitely in this business together, and I think the opening of this facility demonstrates that the future remains bright for Brandix, for Textured Jersey Lanka, and for our two great countries.  Thank you again for the honor of inviting me as your chief guest.