BEING A MULTINATIONAL, MULTICULTURAL BUSINESS COMES WITH A GREAT SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY – ONE THAT WE DON’T TAKE LIGHTLY

We are committed to uplifting and supporting the rural communities we operate in – it’s a symbiotic relationship in our eyes. We provide numerous indirect emoluments through schemes such as obtaining the services of home cooks in the village to provide staff meals and sponsorship of community development initiatives (e.g. supporting the cottage industries or through bringing about advanced internet & road infrastructure to the area).   

Every year, we provide our employees with the necessary school books & stationery their children require, to kickstart the new school year. We have been consistently doing this for over 15 years – Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of over 96%, the highest in the region, and we want to contribute to this in our own small way too. 

With the help of the local health authorities & our financial sponsorship, we prioritised vaccinating our family of over 3000+ members against Covid-19 at our production plants across Sri Lanka – ensuring early protection to our teams who are unable to work remotely given the nature of our work, protecting business continuity for our clients and safeguarding one of the country’s top export-oriented industries.   

We regularly facilitate blood donation campaigns at our premises – an employee-driven initiative – in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Service.  

Our ‘Apith Husmak Hitawamu’ campaign promotes reforestation efforts for a greener future. We understand the impact we have on the environment, which is why we are dedicated to offsetting our emissions, being environmentally conscious and promoting sustainability. We do this at both an individual level, as well as on a corporate scale where we use wastewater for landscaping our premises and growing crops & vegetables.  

Every year, we sponsor and organise an open-house food donation drive run by our employees, for anyone passing by. This is an age-old Sri Lankan tradition – called ‘dansal’ – which are essentially free food stalls serving a range of meals, snacks & drinks during the Buddhist festival of Vesak.  

Our mission goes beyond creating the trendiest clothes in the high street. Our hearing aid donation programmes saw many of those in need regain their ability to fully enjoy the magic of sight & sound better. 

Creating a safe & healthy work environment for our employees is very important to us. We work with qualified third-party organisations to raise awareness on the importance of mental health & educate our team on the resources available to them. Moreover, our industry is predominantly female-driven – these programmes reinforce our commitment to gender equality & that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for what makes a strong woman.

Our own welfare shops at our factories allow our team members to purchase a range of products at subsidised, concession rates. This is our way of helping provide quality essentials at affordable prices for our employees and their families.  

Clean drinking water is a basic human right and we are dedicated to making it accessible to all. Design Studio have implemented industry-standard water filtration systems at all of our locations for our employees’ use, reflecting our commitment to promoting holistic health and well-being at the workplace.  

Sustainability and environmental responsibility are at the heart of our operations. Design Studio have invested in an in-house water treatment plant, helping reduce water usage and minimise waste.  

We believe that charity starts at home. We have a longstanding relationship with local hospitals where our factories are based – some of the programmes we have donated to include the acquisition of modern medical equipment, the painting of brand-new hospital wards, and the donation of aprons, blouses, PPE & mosquito nets.