The leading conglomerate Pran-RFL Group wants to import, process and reuse plastic clothes hangers discarded by western retailers, such as Walmart, Carrefour and H&M.
According to Pran-RFL Group officials’ hanger-manufacturing and exporting venture Banga Plastic International Ltd will take back the intact hangers for making them functioning again.
For this matter, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Chairman, Pran-RFL Group sent a letter to the commerce ministry seeking approval for the import of used plastic clothes hangers.
The letter elaborated that various western brands and retailers have communicated Pran-RFL – as these brands cannot dump or recycle the hangers in the west.
“The foreign brands import clothes hangers from us, and they store those intact after selling the garments. We want to import the plastic item, process those and export it to the brands again,” Chowdhury wrote in the letter.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury assured the commerce ministry that the firm’s operations to make the hangers reusable would not have any adverse effect on the environment.
According to Pran-RFL Group, it makes around 27,000 tons of raw materials from 30,000 tons of used plastic per year.
Around Tk4 billion worth of raw materials obtained from recycling.
Banga Plastic exports 50 million pieces of clothes hangers to overseas markets annually. The company exports 1 million pieces directly while the remaining hangers go to foreign retailers with readymade garments.
