Various reports suggest that in the next 7-8 years, the demand for garments made by alternate fabrics like bamboo, hemp, banana etc., will witness significant increase. With major thrust on cotton and growing focus on MMF, Bangladesh RMG industry is still not tilting towards these alternate materials. However, there are a few companies in the country offering such fabrics and that too mainly in bamboo fabric blends.
but when it comes to the larger level of the industry, there are no other players using these materials.
Small orders for garments made of such fabric, lack of awareness, limited local availability of such fabrics and comparatively high price and demand from selected buyers are few of the reasons that Bangladesh RMG industry is not exploring this segment with high thrust.
“We have very less information about such fabrics as neither our suppliers nor our buyers have ever discussed on the same. Most of the buyers are those who are concerned regarding sustainability – they ask for organic cotton or BCI cotton,” says Md. Shala Uddin Bhuiyan, Chairman, Ashna Collection Ltd. (Dhaka). Having more than 1000 stitching machines, the company is sourcing fabric from few of the leading Indian fabric companies like KG Fabriks and Jindal Worldwide.
Few other RMG exporters also echoed similar views as they have hardly seen demand for such niche garments.
Even the manufacturers which have significant awareness about alternate fabrics are not using them due to lack of demand. Moshiul Azam (Shajal), MD, Fame Sweaters Ltd. (Dhaka) is one such manufacturer who agrees that such products are truly sustainable and worldwide their demand is growing too, but so far none of his buyers have asked for such garments.
He continues, “I feel small order quantity of such products may be a reason that Bangladesh is not getting sufficient orders for these as stores globally have very limited portion for garments made of bamboo or hemp etc. While most of the RMG manufacturers in Bangladesh prefer to work on bulk orders.”
However, reports claim that leading names like Patagonia, H&M and Stella McCartney are actively incorporating these sustainable fabrics.
Companies catering to products using alternative fabrics
Fifth Alliance Global FZC, a leading buying house, has supplied more than 1,50,000 pieces of tees and pyjamas made of bamboo fabric to its Denmark-based buyer. Expecting to double business in this niche category, Rehnuma Chowdhury, MD of the company shares her experience regarding buyers always preferring newness and it really works more when material is different as well as sustainable.
“Bamboo material is available in Bangladesh but the issue is of high price as the locally available material’s price is almost 30 per cent more higher than the same imported material, so we are dependent on import from China,” she says and further adds that majority of the garment manufacturers are also not willing to explore such materials as they are comfortable with the material they are using in the routine.
Cloths “R” Us Ltd., is another buying house having average order of around one million pieces of such garments per year, and most of the time, order quantity is around 50,000 pieces.
“We are using bamboo in a big way, especially as it is a good material for undergarments and briefs for men and women. It is a regular part of our collection and I am experiencing increased demand,” says Kyaw Sein Thay Dolly, MD of company.
She also faces issues regarding the sourcing of authentic quality fabric in competitive market where import is the only solution. It needs to go through a thorough check in supply chain and documentation to ensure authenticity of the material.
She is also in discussion with businesses associated to invest in securing raw materials to ensure price and quality stability.
“I believe that overall, these products are still at an early stage of innovation. May be after few seasons, local mills may adapt these and they will become part of main stream,” Kyaw says.
Local suppliers of alternate fabrics are well aware of these challenges and find that there is no solution to the high cost of locally available fabrics.
Fabrics Avenue OPC is into production of regular fabrics and trading alternate fabrics too, especially bamboo. Abul Bashar, MD of the company informs, “Sourcing fibres, yarns of these fabrics is a challenge and there is no way to bring the price at par with similar imported fabrics.”
As per him, maintaining quality and getting material at a fair price are very difficult. Sometimes the quality of the material is good, but price is not justified. To overcome this issue, the company is enhancing its sourcing range.
Last year it overall sold 500 metric tonnes of bamboo fabrics and it is expecting little higher demand in the future.
Zaber & Zubair Fashion Fabrics Limited (Noman Group) is another company offering diverse sustainable fibres such as pineapple, banana, hemp, bamboo, but it was not available for the response.
Noman Group (Zaber & Zubair Fabrics Ltd.) has an annual capacity of 25 million yards for alternate fabrics and supplies fabrics to many prestigious RMG exporters.
Zubair Mohammad Abdullah, Deputy Managing Director believes that bamboo fibre, as a replacement for cotton and synthetic fabrics, has witnessed significant adoption. It is now utilised as a reinforcement in composite materials, undergoing high-tech revolution in recent years. Sharing about the steps to increase demand for alternate fabrics, he informs, “We are working on multiple fronts, like raising awareness about the environmental benefits of these fabrics and their potential uses, investing in R&D to improve the quality of these fabrics and create innovative products that meet consumer needs. We also ensure that products meet eco-friendly standards such as FSC, VCS, OEKO-TEX. We even provide transparency about the production processes to build trust with consumers. Our other initiatives include collaborating with fashion brands, retailers and designers who are committed to sustainability. This could help us increase visibility and demand for such fabrics.” |
Bright future ahead
As the export market is totally buyer-driven, most of the RMG manufacturers are strongly of the view that if and when there will be any push from buyers regarding alternate fabric, they will certainly cater to such orders. With more demand, order size is also expected to grow and that will also push buyers to place these orders in Bangladesh.
“I see very good growth for alternative material, and over the years, it will replace basic materials of cotton in certain percentage in comfort and sustainability index,” says Kyaw Sein Thay Dolly.
The tables show the huge demand for garments made by alternate material in the next 8 years.
The global bamboo apparel market
2022 | 2032 (expected) | CAGR |
2.2 | 4 | 6 % |
Source: Future Market Insights (FMI)
The global Hemp apparel market
2022 | 2032 (expected) | CAGR |
4 | 62.7 | 32.5 % |
Source: Data Bridge Market Research
Figures in US $ billion