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.
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 dialogue titled ‘Circularity, de-carbonization, and competitiveness in Bangladesh’s apparel sector’ was held at a hotel at Gulshan in the capital. LightCastle Partners, a prominent management consulting firm, and Policy Exchange Bangladesh, jointly organized the dialogue on Tuesday.
LightCastle Partners in collaboration with Policy Exchange of Bangladesh has taken up an extensive programme titled ‘Bunon 2030’ to ascertain transformations to be brought in the apparel sector. As part of the plan, the dialogue was arranged to chalk out strategy and implementing processes in the future.
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.
Dr. M Masrur Reaz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, moderated the dialogue.
Vidiya Amrit Khan, Director, BGMEA, 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.
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.