The apparel industry of Bangladesh is firmly committed to carrying forward its achievements that has earned it global accolades as a safe and sustainable industry in the world, said Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA.

“While our achievements make us immensely proud, they also inspire us to dream bigger and strengthen our tenacity to continue pursuance of excellence in order to retain the fame of Bangladesh as a safe and sustainable apparel sourcing destination in the world,” he said.

Faruque Hassan made the remarks while speaking at a textile round table on the road to sustainability and transparent supply chain, organized by OAV – German Asia-Pacific Business Association, the German importers and the Embassy of Bangladesh in Berlin and hosted by Wünsche Group on June 3.

Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, ndc, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Germany; Miran Ali, Vice President, BGMEA; Christian Moritz, Managing Director of Fashion, Wunsche Gruppe; Almut Roessner, Executive Board Member, OAV; Dr. Michael Arretz, CEO, VFI; Christian Ewert, Global Director, TEDD - Trusted Experts on Due Diligence, and Md. Saiful Islam, Commercial Counselor, Embassy of Bangladesh in Berlin, also spoke at the round table.

BGMEA Directors Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan, Md. Imranur Rahman, Neela Hosna Ara and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell Shams Mahmud were also present at the round table. 

In his address BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said Bangladesh has the highest number of LEED Green factories in the world, with 161 green factories certified by the USGBC, of which 48 are platinum rated and 99 are Gold rated, and these green factories are equipped with all the eco-friendly features and emit 40% less carbon than a conventional factory. 

BGMEA has joined the German Green Button initiative which identifies socially and ecologically sustainable textiles that are placed on the market by responsible companies.    

Besides, BGMEA has pledged to the UN Fashion industry charter for Climate Action with a commitment to facilitate reduction of 30% GHG emission reduction in the industry further, he added.

BGMEA has published its own “Sustainability Reporting” based on GRI guidelines. We engaged with IFC and global brands and successfully implementing the Partnership for Cleaner Textile project with amazing results in terms of water and energy saving, he informed the participants at the round table.

“Our commitment is to take the RMG industry to the next level of sustainability and continue the momentum, the BGMEA President said.

He further said, “If we talk about the transparency in the supply chain of the industry, we have seen some significant transformation here. Currently, all factory inspections reports are disclosed at public domain online which has set a unique example in the world on the issue of work place safety.”