US $ 500 million green fund for Bangladesh’s textile sector

To help the textile sector adopt eco-friendly technologies and practices, the Central Bank of Bangladesh announced US $ 500 million of low-cost green fund for the textile sector. Atiur Rahman, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, announced the central bank’s plans to earmark US $ 500 million of low-cost ‘green fund’ for textile factories. The World Bank Group is supporting the Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT project) in Bangladesh. IFC is taking a lead role in structuring the green fund.

Washing, dyeing, and finishing (WDF) activities are an important part of the country’s textile and apparel industry as 1,700 WDF units and almost 200,000 workers contribute a net value added of up to 20 per cent to the textile value chain. Many mills use 250 to 300 litres of water per kilogram of fabric, far beyond the global best practice of 50 litres per kilogram or less. These factories are the second biggest polluter in the country, consuming an annual 1,500 billion litres of groundwater and relying on inadequate wastewater treatment.