Brandix concludes massive blood drive

-- Employees of top apparel exporter show they care by donating 70 gallons of blood to mark World Blood Donor Day --

Employees of Sri Lanka’s top apparel exporter Brandix donated over 70 gallons of blood to Sri Lanka’s Blood Bank on June 14, designated World Blood Donor Day, in recognition of their responsibility to the community.

More than 720 employees, referred to as associates at Brandix, donated blood at six locations over the preceding three days in a massive campaign coordinated by the Brandix Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Centre and assisted by personnel from the Blood Bank.

Brandix Group companies Brandix Casualwear, Brandix Intimate Apparel, Brandix Finishing, and the Brandix College of Clothing Technology (Brandix College) and American & Efird Lanka (A&E Lanka) hosted these blood donation programmes for associates. The blood donation programme at the Brandix College in Ratmalana was also open to members of the public.

The blood collected through these efforts was presented to S. Liyanage the Supervising Public Health Inspector at the National Blood Transfusion Service by Rupika Gunawardana, Manager HR & Internal Communications of Brandix Casualwear. Brandix Casualwear in Ja-Ela had the most successful campaign within the group, contributing 15 gallons of blood.
“The response from our associates to this initiative was most encouraging,” Anusha Alles, Head of CSR at Brandix said. “They have shown that at Brandix, CSR is not driven from the top, but is part of our corporate culture.”

Mr. Liyanage said: “This effort by Brandix will save many lives. Companies like Brandix are an example of how corporate entities can care for the wellbeing of the community.”

Brandix pioneered the concept of total solutions in the Sri Lankan apparel industry and is Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter with a consolidated annual turnover of over US$ 320 million. The Group’s CSR initiatives are primarily focussed on water, which it uses in large volumes in its manufacturing processes. Brandix has invested Rs 25 million in a training facility and laboratory for water conservation and management in Anuradhapura. Other initiatives include providing water through desalination plants, wells and pipe-borne water to communities in and around the Group’s manufacturing plants. The scope of the Group’s projects has also been extended to encompass sanitation.