Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of ready-to-wear (RMG) clothing, with a significant capacity for manufacturing, high quality and expansion. More than 83% of Bangladesh’s overall exports, worth more than $33 billion in 2019, constitute this sector, which also accounts for 6% of all garment exports worldwide.
The industry is reliant on imported raw resources, especially cotton fibre. In the 2019–20 fiscal year, raw cotton imports were 17.85 million tonnes, compared with 96,077 tonnes and 53,289 tonnes, respectively, of polyester and viscose staple fibre.
Aligning with the European Union’s target to implement Sustainable Development Goal 12, which refers to responsible consumption and production by reducing carbon emissions through using recycled cotton, the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association has recently signed an agreement with the country’s single largest RMG buyer H&M to reduce carbon emissions 30% by 2030 using recycled materials.
Regarding meeting the target, Syed Naved Husain, group director and CEO of the textiles and apparel division of the Bangladesh Export Import Company (BEXIMCO), said Bangladesh needs to meet the target as a prerequisite for keeping buyers as well as the market.