The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (giz) GmbH on behalf of the govt. of Germany and the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh unveils the draft of ‘National Chemical Guideline for Textile and Garment Industry in Bangladesh.
On 2 January 2022, giz held a majestic workshop Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka to review the draft guidelines – where various related ministries all the related stakeholders like from leading associations like Garment Manufacturers and Exporter Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Associations (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) and BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT), textile and garment factories, representatives from different international brands, chemical manufacturer and suppliers, and local and international service providers took part in the consultation session.
The consultation session was presided over by Mst. Kamrunnaher, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Commerce. Md. Hafizur Rahman was present as the Chief Guest while Asif Ashraf, Director, BGMEA; Md Fazle Ehsan Shamim, Director, BKMEA; Abdullah Al Mamun, Vice President, BTMA, and Werner Lange, Cluster Coordinator – Textile, GIZ Bangladesh, addressed the session as special guests.
In the workshop, Dr. Abbas Uddin, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department (Dyes and Chemicals), Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) and Dr. Shoeb Ahmed, Professor (Chemical Engineering), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) gave the keynote presentation.
Asif Ashraf in his speech highlighted the importance of aligning between various govt. departments under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce.
“Side by side, factories need brands cooperation in implementing this national guideline. As brands already enforce their own set of sustainable guidelines. As we want to implement this guideline, it will be highly appreciable if the brands go through it and let us know their recommendations,” Ashraf added.
“We have some challenges in logistics – not all the factories have the same facility to comply with the National Chemical Guideline. Which must be taken into consideration.”
The guideline will give textile and garment factories guidance to resource-efficient management of chemicals in a way that is safe for the people working in the factories and at the same time environment friendly.
Although Bangladesh is in the second position for quite a long time now as far as export of Textile and Garments in the global market, there is no national guideline governing the management of chemicals.
Consequently, the textile sector is forced to comply with different standards set by different fashion brands. A comprehensive national guideline on chemical management would help address this challenge. The draft guidelines have been developed through separate consultation with the main stakeholder groups.
Representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Industries, and Ministry of Labour and Employment took part in the discussion. Besides, representatives from business associations including – Bangladesh.
