Fashion industry leaders are imposing diverse standards and requirements on clothing manufacturers and exporters in developing nations like Bangladesh, which presents obstacles to the development of eco-friendly and sustainable factories during the transition process.
Experts argued that there is a pressing need for harmonising standards related to green factory practices in the production of readymade garments (RMG) even as they underlined such harmonization would encourage more manufacturers to embrace environmentally friendly business practices.
These observations were made during a working session at the WTO Public Forum 2023 held in Geneva recently even as the discussion, titled ‘Green trade measures and their development implications: a focus on the textiles and clothing global value chain,’ emphasised the urgency of addressing the global climate emergency.
The textiles and clothing sector has historically played a crucial role in poverty reduction through trade, enabling countries like Bangladesh to enter the realm of industrialisation and global value chains. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of the Dhaka-based Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), participated as a panellist and emphasised the significance of the export-oriented textiles and RMG sector in Bangladesh’s economy.
She pointed out that in the fiscal year 2022-23, this sector contributed US $ 48.36 billion, constituting 87.06 percent Bangladesh’s total foreign-exchange earnings and 11.74 percent of its total gross domestic product (GDP).
The textiles and RMG sectors employ approximately 4.5 million people in over 5,500 factories in Bangladesh.
