Cleaner and greener production cannot come at free of cost, Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said Sunday.

"There is a sharp disconnect between sustainability and pricing mechanisms. Supplying countries like Bangladesh have their challenges and constraints. So we need more strategic collaboration in this regard," he added.

Faruque was addressing the programme "Securing Green Transition of the Textile and Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh" organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in the city.

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"Environment sits at the top of our agenda at the BGMEA and the sector at large. Bangladesh has the highest number of LEED Green factories in the world, with 157 certified by the USGBC – 47 platinum rated, 96 gold rated," the BGMEA president said.

"These green factories are equipped with all the eco-friendly features and emit around 40 percent less carbon than a conventional factory.  However, we need technical assistance with regard to access to technologies, and building capacity of our human resources to embrace the green technologies and processes."

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, member of parliament and chairman of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, attended the programme as chief guest.

Christine Johansson, deputy head of mission and head of development co-operation at the Embassy of Sweden, also spoke while the programme was moderated by CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun.

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Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Shams Mahmud, former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and managing director of Shasha Denims, Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions and former president of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, also spoke.