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Coats – the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer, is a major supply chain innovator and a long-standing supporter of the local apparel industry through the annual Sri Lanka Design Festival.
Coats joined the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) 2015 yet again as the Official Thread and Zip Partner to support the growth of the local fashion industry to a global scale. Coats, a firm believer in design, knowledge-led development and innovation, plays a major role at the event every year by contributing to discussions and new supply chain innovation and the future of the local apparel industry.
The following interview with Coats Sri Lanka Managing Director Douglas Aceiro highlights this revolutionary involvement of a supply chain leader to support the apparel industry:
Coats Opti Zips are part of the young designer collaborations at SLDF 2015
Q: Coats has been partnering SLDF as the main supply chain partner year after year. What is the importance of this partnership to Coats?
A: One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats’ thread. As the world’s leading industrial thread business, we are well positioned to support the local fashion and apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Innovation is one of the key dynamics in the fashion industry and our in-depth understanding of our customer needs drives our new product development.
We work closely with a wide range of global brands, many of whom focus on Sri Lanka as a key global apparel sourcing hub – the sophistication and profile of our customers based here means we often use it to trial and soft launch new products and services ahead of rolling out more widely. Our partnership with SLDF has been rewarding in providing us with an excellent platform to showcase our global solutions to the local apparel industry here.
Q: As the key supply chain partner of SLDF, how does Coats add value to the festival?
A: Coats has been an active supporter of the SLDF for the last five years, during which our industry experts from across the world have come to Sri Lanka to contribute to forums and discussions on key issues including supply chain, sourcing and branding. We 
have also showcased our product technology and pioneering new developments for the fashion and apparel industry.
Q: Coats has collaborated with SLDF beyond the supply chain paradigm and gone on to support the grass-root level industries such as contemporary craft. How is this driven and what does Coats contribute to this sector?
A: Coats is very supportive of the markets in which it is based, particularly the local craft industries and artisan communities in Sri Lanka. Through the Coats/AOD/SLDF collaboration, we have been able to support and encourage innovative partnership through the use of our industrial machine sewing thread on traditional handlooms. This has created a hybrid handloom fabric which has a soft texture and is very light weight. It also offers the communities access to a much wider variety of colours and thread construction.
AOD and SLDF are currently working on even more innovative new developments which are building on the initial work we started five years ago.
Q: Coats is also a major supporter of young talent who are to take over the fashion industry in the future. Can you talk a little bit more about your work with them?
A: Coats works very closely with AOD to collaborate with young talent and provide them with the opportunity to work with our latest product innovations across threads, zips and trims. Over the years they have created some fantastic collections using our products. For example, AOD graduate Nithya used our neon threads and won the Coats Student Award, which we award to recognise young talent. This year, AOD fashion undergraduates are again working with us to produce some outstanding innovations in fashion for SLDF.
We are very proud to be supporting and encouraging their talents and enabling them to work with cutting-edge technology as well as gain an understanding of industry demands in order for the Sri Lankan fashion industry to have access to a group of highly skilled fashion professionals when these designers graduate.
Revolutionary glow-in-the dark collection with Coats Thread by AOD young talent Nithya
Q: Coats’ contribution to SLDF also includes hosting your Group Chief Executive, Paul Forman whose expertise in managing the world’s largest thread maker, is extremely useful for the progress of the local industry. Paul will be speaking at SLDF and sharing his knowledge with Sri Lanka. How important is this?
A: I think opportunities like this where global leading companies are able to bring industry leaders, like our Group Chief Executive, Paul Forman, to share their expertise and talk directly with local manufacturers are extremely important. It helps us all understand our joint future as a wider industry, and helps us to integrate the supply chain and the manufacturers who really need to work together in order to create a superior product for the consumer. Paul’s visit and him speaking at SLDF, attended by the top tier leaders of the Sri Lankan apparel industry, is extremely important and valuable.
The partnership between Coats and SLDF will also project Sri Lanka’s industrial and creative potential to leading markets through Coats’ global network of international customers and well known global brands. Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, operating in more than 70 countries and employing over 20,000 people across six continents. One in five garments on the planet is held together with Coats’ thread and it is the largest global player in the textile crafts market.
Coats invests each year in research, development and product innovation and is a firm supporter of sharing knowledge and creative education.
Sri Lanka Design Festival supported by Coats Thread will be launched to the local business community on 26 November and remain open to the public on 27, 28 and 29 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre.
For more information: www.srilankadesignfestival.com/[email protected] /076 777 1488.
