Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine April Issue 2019 | Page 22

COVER STORY 2
Green going strong
in Bangladesh!
Continuing with the eco-friendly trend, more and more apparel and fabric manufacturers are
setting up green units… Here are a few companies that have implemented sustainable and
green practices recently.
O
f the top 10 green factories
worldwide, 7 are reportedly
of Bangladesh origin. The country
today boasts of having one of the most
exemplary lines of compliant factories.
As per reports, there are around
280 green factories in Bangladesh,
of which 67 are certified by the US
Green Building Council (USGBC).
Amongst the 67, several are Platinum
rated, recognised for best practices in
design, construction and operations.
The green wave, which started,
consequently gave buyers the much
needed push for all-round compliance
and sustainability and changing
business dynamics got a further shot
in the arm following end-customers’
focus on ethical sourcing and supply
chain transparency.
Last year, Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) in association
with USGBC and Green Business
Certification Inc. (GBCI) organised an
event to recognise 13 LEED Platinum
certified factories namely Remi
Holdings Limited; Tarasima Apparels
Limited; Plummy Fashions Limited;
Vintage Denim Studio Limited;
Columbia Washing Plant Limited;
Echotex Limited; SQ Celsius Unit
2 Limited; Kaniz Fashions Limited;
Genesis Washing Limited; Genesis
Fashions Limited; SQ Birichina
Limited; SQ ColBlanc Limited; and
Envoy Textiles Limited, for their
achievements.
Call it the need of the hour, the
overwhelming focus on sustainability
has led many more to take the green
path. In the last few months alone,
Apparel Online Bangladesh (AOB)
interacted with many such entities
evidencing that the year ahead
“Whether it is
about trying
innovative new
techniques or
discovering
cutting edge
technology to
lead the industry
into a more
sustainable
future, Tosrifa
Industries
Limited (TIL)
is always at the
forefront…”
– Mohim Hassan
wouldn’t be an aberration from the
preceding ones as far as the concept
of ‘Green’ in Bangladesh readymade
garment and textile industry is
concerned.
Laila Styles Limited of Laila Group,
headed by Md. Imranur Rahman as
the Managing Director is one such
entity, which is not just going green,
rather it is aiming for the coveted
Platinum tag!
“The certification process is under
progress and we are hoping for LEED
Platinum,” said Bodiuz Zaman,
General Manager – Admin, HR &
Compliance, Laila Styles Limited
the would be 35-line production
(running 10 lines at the time of
interview) facility, specialising in
woven bottoms (denim and non-
denim) for men, women and kids.
“We are already working for Matalan
while orders from H&M and C&A are
also in the pipeline,” stated a proud
Zaman, tracing Laila Styles’ inception
to Imranur’s dream of setting up a top-
of-the-line green manufacturing unit
that can be showcased to the overseas
buyers while also giving shape to his
aspirations of women empowerment
and CSR efforts.
“In terms of composition, unlike many
others, we have 90 per cent female
and 10 per cent male workers…There
is a popular belief in the industry that
women cannot do critical operations.
But our MD wants to prove that
perception wrong. We aim to train,
employ and bring them at par with
men. As such, we have set up a
training centre to provide pre- and
on-job trainings,” elaborated the unit’s
General Manager.
While in terms of operational and
manufacturing practices, the company
has implemented cutting-edge
technical interventions and high-tech
machinery, there’s no compromising
Cutting-edge laundry technology in Mahmud Fashions Limited
22 Apparel Online Bangladesh | APRIL 2019 | www.apparelresources.com