Marks & Spencer's 100 per cent carbon neutral, 100 per cent green, 100 per cent ethical factory in Thurulie, Sri Lanka

Funded and built by Marks & Spencer in partnership with a local, award-winning manufacturer called, confusingly, MAS, this temple to sustainability is about to produce the world’s first eco underwear: the Per Una organic cotton bra, at £14, with matching knickers at £6, available in shops in January.  

There are 'cool roofs', which reflect the sun. There are huge windows that magically let in natural light, but keep heat out. There is rainwater harvesting, which has reduced water consumption by 50 per cent, and Sri Lanka's biggest array of solar panels, reducing electricity consumption by 40 per cent. And staggeringly, every single one of the workers has a view of palm trees and the natural lake with its lily pads, flocks of pelicans and the mountains beyond. 

I am taken on a tour of the effluent treatment works – my, fashion can be so glamorous – that convert waste into drinking water, and am shocked to learn that of all the garment manufacturers in the world, only M&S insists each of its factories treats its waste.

Instead of air conditioning there is an ingenious system called 'evaporative cooling', which uses 75 per cent less energy.

 

Extracted from online article by Liz Jones - Mail Online 2008

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