Towards a zero-waste textile sector

Given the highly pollutant nature of the textile and fashion industry, the Western importers of textile products from developing nations including Bangladesh want to see that waste generated by the industry is managed efficiently and sustainably. In the textile industry, which is dominated by the Readymade Garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh, in addition to the chemicals or various solid wastes generated during manufacturing process, pieces of cloths or textiles from which garment articles are produced also become waste called garment waste. The informal business involving textile or garment waste, or jhut in Bangla, is a major socio-political issue here as it has given rise to violent turf wars among jhut traders. So, proper management of textile waste is more than being environmentally conscious. As the garment waste or jhut is behind eruption of occasional violence and labour unrest, addressing the issue urgently and efficiently has now become a priority before the government and the industry operators. Against this backdrop, a roundtable titled, 'Switch to Upstream Circularity: Path Towards Circularity in Bangladesh's RMG Industry' was recently organised in the city where the industry people, government leaders, international development partners as well as brand representatives participated. As it emerged from the discussion event in question, it is the informal nature of the textile waste market here that lies at the heart of the prevailing crisis in the sector. The answer to it is going circular which is about reducing waste, reusing and recycling it thereby converting the waste into more useful value-added items (upcycling).
Hence, experts on the issue suggest that by adopting an appropriate policy, the garment waste that is now presenting itself as a nuisance can revolutionise the entire outlook of the industry by not only reducing the sector's dependence on import of raw materials but also creating a large number of new jobs through establishing recycling industries. That is also important for stimulating the export of garment products for the simple reason that modern environment-conscious consumers in the West appreciate value-added upcycled textile products. But the only way of transitioning to the next phase of the industry where there is no concept of waste, Bangladesh should introduce the needed technology and expertise in the textile sector. Until that is done, Bangladesh's textile or apparel sector will lag behind its regional and international competitors and helplessly watch the shift of the technology and expertise to the Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.
However, the main roadblock to this path of progress is the existing regulatory framework which is unhelpful to formalising the textile waste or jhut market. Of necessity, the new regulatory framework will have to be a post-industrial one that will revamp, for example, the present national environmental policy, solid waste management rules, Bangladesh Labour Act, etc., in order that they are in line with the emerging international, particularly the EU standards for circularity in textile manufacturing and waste management. Some international experts held that the next five years (till 2030) will be crucial for Bangladesh's apparel industry since by then it will be required to meet the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular textiles. The EU market, which is an important destination of the country's apparel exports, will look for textile products that are recycled fibres, free from harmful substances and produced in an environmentally as well as socially responsible manner.
In that case, the primary task before the government now is to come up with a clear regulatory framework that would formalise the textile waste sector and thus create the desired enabling conditions for it to attract the necessary knowhow and innovative recycling technologies.