At a spanking new lingerie factory in Thulhiriya, a short drive from Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital, senior managers wear T-shirts. This is not because MAS Holdings, the country's biggest apparel company, which recently opened the factory, is a dress-down sort of a firm. It is because the factory has no air-conditioning. Instead it uses evaporative cooling, which leaves the workplace around four degrees hotter than air-conditioning would--but uses much less energy.
The factory has many energy-saving features. Its carefully designed windows provide enough natural light for workers stitching bras. Its turf roofs provide a cooling shade. Overall it uses 40 percent less energy than an ordinary factory of the same size. And the electricity it uses is from renewable sources: 90 percent from a hydro-power plant and 10 percent from on-site solar panels. MAS reckons it has built the world's first carbon-neutral clothes factory.
Source: The Economist, http://www.economist.com