Reinventing Sustainable Fashion with Recycled Plastic Bottles the New Norm

Dr. Amarasinghe’s has a celebrated career, from being ranked by The Asia Money Magazine ranked as one of Sri Lanka’s top three analysts in 1994 and in Pakistan, investor and Chief Financial Officer of Millennium Information Technologies (MillenniumIT) in 1999, a founding partner and investor in E-Channelling, Sri Lanka’s premier e-commerce platform, and was also a director and an early investor in Alumex Anodizing and Machine Tools (Pvt) Ltd. Dr. Amarasinghe’s most recent investment is in Beira Parawood Products Ltd. (BPPL) which he, acquired in 2012.

BPPL is one of Asia’s largest producers of brush ware and synthetic fibre, all of which are exported globally. BPPL’s customers include the likes of Tesco PLC, Carrefour, Home Depot and Lowes. Since acquisition, BPPL has been transformed to a significant eco-friendly institution where approx. 20% of Sri Lanka’s PET waste is collected from dump yards and washed at its washing plants with synthetic filaments then extruded for use in brush ware. The eco-friendly aspects extend to the use of rubber wood where for each tree that’s uprooted, a new tree is planted, and the use of recycled packaging and LEED certified factory buildings. The company has also commissioned its own renewable energy based power generation plants such as bio-mass and solar which generate a third of its power needs. The company has recently invested in a yarn spinning facility to use the same recycled PET flakes to produce polyester yarn for textiles. This unique process involves turning environmentally-damaging waste into usable, sustainable yarn. The recycled yarn can then be converted into eco-friendly fabrics, suitable for garments, home textiles, and accessories. BPPL today, is arguably one of the largest eco-friendly operations in South Asia and is now listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.