Home ›› 16 Jun 2023 ›› Front
Bangladesh needs to shift from linear to circular economy to keep resources in use for as long as possible, and extract and harvest the maximum value from the products because circularity will be key for the country’s next growth transition, according to stakeholders and experts.
Representatives of fashion brands, exporters, diplomats and lawmakers came up with the observation at the Bangladesh Circular Economy Summit in Dhaka on Thursday.
Organised by Bangladesh Apparel Exchange in collaboration with Laudes Foundation and partnership with P4G, the first-of-its-kind event was held between 9am and 5:30pm at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Dhaka.
“In a traditional economy, which is linear, we produce, consume and throw away and that is not sustainable. So, we need to shift from linear to a circular economy to keep resources in use for as long as possible,” said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s special envoy for the environment and climate change.
“For that, the business cases for circularity have to be win-win for manufacturers and buyers,” he said.
Meanwhile, diplomats called for decoupling the growth from pollution to achieve circularity in the industrial sector.
“Bangladesh is one of the largest producers of readymade garments and that makes it also one of the largest producers of garment waste. The country is a middle-class economy and will have a high demand for materials in the future,” Bernd Spanier, deputy head of the European Union delegation in Bangladesh, said at the summit.
“In this context, I would like to emphasise two important things regarding the topic of circular economy. The first is the circulation of waste and recycling technologies. Without open trade on this issue, we are undermining the potential. So, any restriction or ban on waste would be counter to going towards our goal,” Spanier said.
“Secondly, the circular economy should be fuelled by renewable energy because it will be of no use if you have a clean circular economy that is fuelled by dirty fuels. It contradicts the purpose,” he added.
Spanier said, “We want to help Bangladesh by providing knowledge to inspire, and technologies to transfer. For that, we are setting up a European Chamber of Commerce. We will try to get a platform because we need to exchange knowledge.”
The EU delegation in cooperation with the UN is driving the pilot projects, Spanier said, adding, “And I am very sure it is not the last event if we are talking about the circular economy.”
Along with being the largest RMG and garment waste producer, let Bangladesh also be one of the most significant actors in the circular economy in the world, he said. Global fashion brands and retailers also emphasised the need for a circular economy and sustainability.
The need to join forces
Leyla Ertur, the global head of sustainability at H&M Group, told the summit, “The fashion industry needs to accelerate its transformation towards circularity as the way forward to solve the biggest challenges we, not only companies but societies in general, face such as climate change and biodiversity loss.”
“We need to join forces to build a circular fashion ecosystem and Bangladesh is unique as the country with the world’s largest share of pre-consumer textile waste readily available for recycling,” she said.
She said, “Bangladesh has a great potential to attract investments from local and foreign investors to scale up the production of high-value recycled fibres from pre-consumer waste. However, we are well aware that the industry needs advancing policy to regulate the waste handling sector to move forward in this area.”
Bangladesh is the second-largest producer of RMG products and they have a role to play in this change. H&M is now working on second-hand clothing, repairing and recycling as well, Ertur added.
Asian Development Bank Country Director for Bangladesh Edimon Ginting said that RMG is one of the top pollution sources. Having growth on the one hand and pollution in another hand, this needs to be balanced.
In this regard, ADB will assist Bangladesh, which must focus on better waste management like waste-to-energy, he said, adding that the country also has to formulate policies regarding sustainability and circularity.
“In this interconnected world, no one can do anything alone. A partnership is mandatory. ADB would be happy to be partnered with businesses, industries and countries [in this regard],” he added.
Addressing the summit, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said that the 3Rs — reduce, recycle and reuse — are the keys to achieving and maintaining sustainability.
“Extended product or producer responsibility as stipulated by the EU is going to be mandatory for apparel producers in Bangladesh. So, the importance of promoting circular fashion in the country cannot be overstated,” he added.
Commercial sense
Saber, also the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said that the partnership between the government and the industry is also important.
“We have to think beyond CSR as it is not only the way of sustainability. The business case for sustainability must be very strong. We have to have strong commercial sense,” he added.
He said that they have brands like H&M here and it has a very important role to play in the global context. For sustainability, they are pushing the industry in Bangladesh and that is fine. “But when it comes to the price, you should pay fair when the industry becomes sustainable.”
Bangladesh Apparel Exchange Founder and CEO Mostafiz Uddin said that Bangladesh Circular Economy Summit aims to find out the opportunities for the shift from the linear to the circular business model and foster collaborations among the stakeholders to promote a circular economy in the country.
The summit’s programmes included an opening plenary, four plenary sessions, three keynotes, three presentations and a roundtable.
