Bangladeshi factories environment-friendly

Leading apparel and footwear buyers and retailers, who source from Bangladesh, have teamed up to make the country’s factories environmentally sound as part of a global initiative.

They have come together under the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme, which aims to help lead the industries towards lowering discharge of such chemicals by 2020.

The ZDHC programme signatory brands include Adidas, Benetton, Burberry, C&A, Esprit, G-Star Raw, Gap, H&M, Inditex, Jack Wolfskin, Levi Strauss, L Brands, Li Ning, M&S, New Balance Athletic Shoe, NIKE, PUMA and PVH Corp.

In Bangladesh, the grouping held its first workshop on stakeholder engagement at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka recently.

Apart from country representatives of brands, suppliers, textile industry associations, environmental and social nongovernmental organisations took part in the event.

ZDHC brands understand that beyond their own capabilities and commitments, meaningful, lasting and industry-wide change requires a broader partnership of efforts, the grouping said in a statement.

“Together, ZDHC brands and associate members are pooling their resources to tackle the challenges toward our goal of zero discharge – forming the most practical, scalable and solutions-oriented initiatives within the industry to date.”