Activewear & Sportswear from Sri Lanka

For the past three decades, Sri Lanka has built an enviable and enduring reputation as a trusted sourcing destination for ‘garments without guilt’ or superior fashion apparel that’s manufactured in strict compliance with ethical employment practices, a prerequisite for all iconic global fashion brands or labels to source apparel from certain manufacturers and suppliers operating from a certain country. Among the many categories of apparel sourced from Sri Lanka, Activewear and Sportswear are two important categories in terms of both export volume and value.

Activewear vs Sportswear

Activewear and sportswear are two different types of attire for people leading an active lifestyle. The term ‘sportswear’ refers to the clothes designed specifically for sports purposes whereas the term ‘activewear’ refers to the clothes designed to transition from exercise wear to casual wear. Activewear provides style along with comfort and function and is made of sustainable materials.
Activewear is perfectly cut out for first exercising and then very comfortably and stylishly transitioning to casual attire where the styles, fabrics, and cut of the clothes are perfectly suited for mingling in a casual setting. In contrast, sportswear is attire, shoes, and accessories that are specifically designed for sports purposes. It must have certain functions, thermal properties, comfort, sustainability, specific fabric weight, and many other attributes to suit different sports.

Athletic Wear from Sri Lanka

A whole variety of trendy and high-quality athletic wear for both men and women is manufactured in and exported from Sri Lanka to international markets such as the USA, Europe and the UK. Athletic wear comes under the broader category of sportswear. When athletes are out there participating in track and field events or practising and training for them, what they wear does affect their performance. Only if one is comfortable with one’s attire, will he or she be able to focus completely on their performance. The clothes, which are not cut out for that, will either drag or weigh them down or weaken their performance in some other way. In other words, quality athletic wear is crucial to enhanced performance alongside the fundamentals such as energy, stamina, practice, techniques, passion, discipline, and confidence.

Several technical specifications go into making superior wear for both men and women. Of these, the type and density of fabric are of great importance. Most athletic wear pulls moisture from the athlete’s body to the exterior of the apparel so that it evaporates easily.  These factors impact the athlete’s perspiration level; ventilation and body warm-up that ultimately affect their performance. Sri Lankan athletic wear manufacturers and suppliers have acquired expertise in designing and developing world-class athletic wear for some of the most iconic fashion and sportswear labels. Thus, Sri Lanka is an excellent sourcing destination for a wide variety of athletic wear for all fashion and sportswear retailers.

Athletic wear for Women

There’s a whole range of athletic wear designed and manufactured for female athletes in such broad categories as Tops, Pants, Socks, Footwear, and Innerwear, which help them excel in the track and field events and also in practising, which is pivotal to outstanding performance at any athletic games to the Olympics. Women’s athletic wear is manufactured in Sri Lanka for global fashion and sportswear brands trusted and endorsed by champion athletes.   

Athletic wear for Men

For male athletes too, there’re so many articles of athletic wear under such broad categories as Tops, Pants, Socks, and Footwear. These are specially manufactured for those playing in or practising for the track and field events at all types of athletic games. The special fabric used in athletic wear helps the athletes cope with perspiration and body heat and perform well at the games. Men’s athletic wear is manufactured in Sri Lanka for global fashion and sportswear brands trusted and endorsed by the champion athletes as well.   

Swimwear & Swimsuits from Sri Lanka

Swimwear is yet another major category of Apparel exports from Sri Lanka. Also known as swimsuits, bathing suits, swimming costumes, swimming suits, and swimmers, etc. swimwear is designed for those participating in water-based activities or water sports such as swimming, diving, surfing and the likes. That apart, swimwear is worn for sunbathing as well.

To provide both its functional value and sense of style to the wearer, the swimsuit fabric is required to fit tightly and allow for a comfortable and safe swim. It also must be able to hold its shape when wet and to dry readily and quickly. Therefore, nearly every type of swimwear fabric contains elastane fibres, a synthetic fibre with elastic which is better known by the brand names: Lycra and Spandex. Elastane is blended with other synthetic fibres to provide a comfortable stretch.

Generally, it is made with around 10%-20% elastane to 80%-90% other fibres, but this varies from manufacturer to manufacturer based on the desired quality of the swimwear being sewn. Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers have gained the know-how and possess the skills and technology to produce superior swimwear for global brands and have been exporting swimwear to the international markets over the past three decades. As a result, Sri Lanka has become a reliable sourcing destination for all types of swimwear sold under some of the iconic fashion labels.

Cycling Wear from Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan apparel suppliers have been manufacturing and exporting cycling wear or bike clothing to international markets over the past three decades. Cycling, both as a sport and a low-impact exercise, has caught on in recent years. Over one billion people in the world ride a bicycle today, but the majority of them are hobbyist cyclists rather than professional cyclists and may not wear the full gear most of the time.

Still, a billion people are roughly one-seventh of the global population, and there are millions of cyclists worldwide who generate the massive global demand for cycling wear. Common types of cycling wear include bike shorts (also called cycling shorts, bicycling shorts, chamois, knicks, or spats or thigh cling shorts), cycling underwear or liner shorts, skorts, bib shorts, mountain bike shorts, bike pants, tights and warmers, bike jerseys, cycling arm and leg warmers, cycling jackets, bike socks, caps, skullcaps and headbands, and gloves.

While being stretchy enough to provide enough riding comfort, cycling wear manufacturers should pay serious attention to the reflectivity factor in cycling wear especially because bike clothes worn in colder, darker weather must sport a certain degree of reflectivity so that the cyclist can avoid accidents that may result from their low visibility otherwise. Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers have built a solid reputation as a trusted destination for sourcing high-quality cycling wear for global fashion and sportswear brands.

Workout Wear from Sri Lanka

Workout-wear also called gym wear or gym clothes is yet another apparel category exported from Sri Lanka. Closely related to workout wear is athleisure wear, the type of clothing which women can wear for working out or in athletic activities and also at all kinds of casual social gatherings. The common athleisure outfits worn by women include yoga pants, tights, sneakers, leggings, and shorts which are workout wear too.

Capri pants, sweatpants, Bermuda shorts, tank tops, and racerbacks too fall into the workout wear category and by the same token, they fall into the women’s athleisure wear category as well. Common workout wear worn by men includes workout shirts, hoodies & jackets, workout shorts, tanks, tracksuits, bottoms and joggers, stringers, and base layers, etc some of which are athleisure wear for them too.The fabric predominantly used in workout wear is polyester, a plastic cloth that’s durable, wrinkle-resistant, lightweight, and non-absorbent, which means it evaporates the wearer’s moisture rather than drawing it into the material.

Elastane and nylon too are used for workout wear to ensure their stretchability for ease of moving the arms and legs in exercising. With more and more people taking an active interest in maintaining their health and fitness, the global demand for workout wear is on an upward trend. Apparel manufacturers in Sri Lanka have acquired the specialised technology skills required to manufacture high-quality workout wear and won the trust of many global fashion and sportswear brands over the years.

Skiing Wear from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka also exports skiing wear or skiing apparel. Since skiing is a game against the force of elements, right skiing wear is instrumental to enjoying a great skiing experience. Among the commonly used skiing wear are anoraks or insulated ski jackets, windcheaters, wind jackets, ski pants (salopettes), skiing base layers, skiing mid-layers, skiing base layer bottoms, ski gloves, and ski socks, etc.

In 2019, Sri Lanka had exported anoraks (including ski jackets), windcheaters and wind jackets, etc to the USA, France, Israel, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Canada, Australia, and the UAE. Even though the total value is low due to the low quantity of exports i.e. just 11188 items in total, Sri Lanka possesses the technical know-how and the skills required to manufacture ski wear, so there is enormous potential to scale up the production.

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