Twenty-five garment factories were awarded yesterday for being environmentally-compliant by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility.

The BGMEA and SEDF selected the awardees in a joint environmental compliance programme of two years, where 250 factories with operations on washing, dyeing and finishing were assessed on environmental standards.

AWARDEES

• Apex Spinning and Knitting Mill
• Apparel Gallery
• Arrival Fashion
• Cosmopolitan Industries
• Dird Composite Textiles
• Fakir Knitwears
• Interstoff Apparels
• Knit Concern
• Meghna Knit Composite
• Millenium Sweater
• Mozart Knit
• Northern Corporation
• Oeko Tex           
• Sq Celsius
• Viyellatex
• Sikder Classic Dyeing and Knitting
• Islam Garments
• Tusuka Processing
• Robintex (Bangladesh)
• Zaber and Zubair Fabrics
• Divine Textile
• GMS Composite Knitting Industries
• Hams Washing and Dyeing
• Sqare Knit Fabrics

Launched in 2011, the programme was done on waste-water treatment control, air-emission, noise and sound, cleaner production, sludge management, chemicals and hazardous materials management by the factories.

Commerce Minister GM Quader handed over the awards at a programme at Westin Hotel in Dhaka and urged garment owners to protect the environment and increase facilities for workers.

Factory owners should run garment units following compliance standards for the greater interest of the country and its people, Quader said.

The government has been monitoring the working and safety standards at garment factories regularly and will provide cooperation to the businessmen, he said.

Chairing the programme, BGMEA President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said the awards mean that the member factories of association will have to be more environmentally compliant for sustainability of the business.

Businesses will not sustain without a proper environment and a good habitation, he said.

“For the continued economic growth of Bangladesh, it is vital that the sustainability of the textile sector is ensured,” said IFC-SEDF Country Manager Kyle Kelhofer.

“The successful execution of projects like this will allow the sector to gain a competitive edge in the global market.”