Value addition to waste can revive RMG fortune

FE Team | Published: August 09, 2023 20:44:03

The country's garment factories have been neglecting their byproduct locally called jhut consisting of assorted rejects such as cut pieces, scraps and remnants. In fact, it has been treated as disposable waste for long. But with the combined negative impacts of global economic recession and a change in Western customers' taste influenced by environmental concerns, the garment waste has suddenly become a valuable byproduct ---one that can be turned into a money spinner through value addition. The fact is, apparel traders did not feel the compulsion of exploring the waste's gainful use when their readymade garment (RMG) products fetched them a hefty profit. Now they discover that the refuse they disposed of rather carelessly is a potential source of their raw materials that can be shaped into finished products with high demand in their export destinations.
However, the garment owners and traders are late to respond to this new demand. By this time the allied sub-sector of jhut business has grown from strength to strength. This is only because its importers abroad have been recycling the waste into yarn and fabric for making apparel enjoying preference from foreign customers. The fact is that the cheap refuse or remnant from Bangladesh garment factories finds its way, courtesy of about 300 jhut exporters, to importing countries where it is turned into yarn and clothes which garment factories in this country also imports. This is quite an intriguing situation in which Bangladesh becomes a double loser and the importing countries make a profit taking advantage of the source country's negligence for not considering its own economic interests. Of late, though, local garment factories have become aware of what they are missing in the process and some of them have appealed for stopping jhut export. Of course, jhut exporters are likely to oppose such a move because 20,000-22,000 traders are involved with the business, mainly processing waste in an informal way. Its employment generation for 0.6 million workers and indirect provision for 1.0 million dependants now stands as a thorny issue in case export of jhut is banned.
Yet in the interest of the country, it would be wiser to put the RMG waste to far more gainful use. In that case, alternative avenues of employment for the jhut exporters and workers can possibly be created particularly in the plants to be established for making yarn and fabric from RMG discards. When income from greater volumes of apparel exports to the European Union and USA has comparatively declined, here is a sure way of substantially complementing it by way of using the factories' byproducts in a gainful manner.
At this business crunch time, innovation and value addition to cheap materials can help any industry stay competitive. Garment factories here produce 4.0-5.0 million tonnes of waste annually and if this volume is recycled for making apparel, as a report carried in the FE quoting entrepreneurs claims, the annual revenue income may be as high as US$6.0 billion. The advantage for the garment factories here is that a few of them have already started manufacturing yarn and fabric. The machines and technology are not particularly sophisticated and beyond procurement. A concerted effort is needed to strengthen this RMG sub-sector for boosting the overall income of the number one foreign exchange earner.