Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Vidiya Amrit Khan has said recycling has always been a part of Bangladesh in a non-systematic and informal way as hand-me-downs or passed on to plastic handlers and fabric segregators.
“We need detailed waste management policy at local, national and international level,” Vidiya Amrit said while speaking at a dialogue titled ‘Circularity, de-carbonization, and competitiveness in Bangladesh’s apparel sector’ held at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday night.
Dr. M Masrur Reaz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, moderated the dialogue.
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LightCastle Partners, a prominent management consulting firm, and Policy Exchange Bangladesh, jointly organized the dialogue that highlighted a number of challenges such as the banks and financial institutions’ lack of meeting 5% ‘green loan’ target.
Other challenges in the sector include attracting the right investments, financial problems for establishing solar factories, the inability of most organizations regarding repayment of loans, and not easy access to loans for small and medium-level organizations.
About 84% of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from this sector. If a circular economy is adopted, Bangladesh may benefit economically, the speakers observed.
While presenting for a deep dive workshop, Mrinmoy Sobhan, Business Consultant at LightCastle Partners, said that the use of garment products is expected to reach 102 billion items across the world by 2030. “It may increase the emission of greenhouse gases by up to 50%. Bangladesh’s apparel sector produces about 5.77 lakh tonnes of textile waste in a year. “
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Md. Ariful Hoque, Director General of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), said recycled products also need to have enough competitive edge, otherwise consumers will not accept them, according to a media release.
According to the latest report of BGMEA, there are over 200 industry-friendly apparel factories in the country. It is imperative to give attention to the issue of reuse of textile wastage for reducing carbon footprint.
Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Abdullah Hil Rakib, Managing Director of Team Group, Dr. Zaki Uz Zaman, Bangladesh Country Representative of the United Nations Development Organization (UNIDO), Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, Country Representative of the Asia Foundation, among others, spoke.
On behalf of LightCastle Partners, its Co-founder and Director Zahedul Amin, Business Consultant Samiha Anwar, and other officials spoke.
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According to a report by Denmark-based Fashion Partnership Organization, 2019, Bangladesh exports 60% of its textile wastage annually. But Bangladesh can reduce its 15% demand of total cotton import by reusing its wastage cotton, said a media release.
At the same time, the demand for water in its textile industry will increase threefold compared to its internal demand by 2030. Under the circumstances, it is imperative to ensure the growth of the circular economy for sustainable development in the apparel sector.
While presenting the keynote paper at the dialogue, Faisal Rabbi, Stakeholder Engagement & Public Affairs Manager, H&M, said 60% of our GHG emission is coming from production countries, to achieve our net zero target by 2040 the GHG reduction must happen in production countries like Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government and the industry here need to align with the goals of fashion brands as they are not just goals set by the brands but a legal requirement for market access going forward.
