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Nine out of the top-ten green or environment-friendly ready-made garment (RMG) factories are located in Bangladesh, sources said.
However, the first one among such top-rated factories is situated in Indonesia.
Indonesia has the highest-ranked garment factory in USGBC LEED Platinum category with 101 points out of 110, according to data compiled by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Among the local units, Remi Holdings Ltd achieved 97 points, Tarasima Apparels Limited 93, Plummy Fashions Ltd 92, Mithela Textile Industries Limited 91, and Vintage Demin Studio Ltd, AR Jeans Producer Ltd and Karooni Knit Composite Ltd got 90 points each.
Designer Fashion Ltd attained 89 points, Green Textile Limited Unit-3 and Kenpark-2 achieved 88, while Columbia Washing Plant Ltd, Toshrifa Industries Ltd (fabric division) and Cute Dress Industry Ltd ranked ninth with 87 each.
The tenth Platinum rated factory is Echotex Ltd with 86 points.
Besides Bangladesh, Sri Lanka has the fourth-rated factory in Platinum category. Ireland, Mexico and India have sixth-rated, Pakistan seventh, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and India ninth, and Italy, Poland, Taiwan and India have tenth-ranked factories, the BGMEA data showed.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the US Green Building Council (USBC) is a point-based system, where a rating level is achieved once a project meets all the pre-requisites and earns minimum points.
Depending on the number of points earned, a project may be labeled as LEED-certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, or LEED Platinum.
A total of 144 garment factories have already received the USBC LEED certification. Of these units, 41 belong to Platinum category, 87 Gold, 14 Silver, and the rest two are certified.
Besides, more than 500 local factories are also registered with the certification.
Local entrepreneurs are gradually focusing on green or environment-friendly factories for enhancing their competitiveness in the global market and for ensuring long-term sustainability, industry insiders said.
Since the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, the number of such green factories has been increasing in the country's garment sector, they added.
Though the apparel sector is the pioneer in setting up such units, entrepreneurs of other sectors, like - leather, footwear, cement, electrical, plastic, RMG backward linkage industries - including accessories, washing and dyeing, and commercial buildings, are also investing for these factories, according to the USGBC official website.
"Going green helps ensuring sustainability, which is the core requirement for future export business," said S M Khaled, managing director of Snowtex Outwear Limited, a LEED Gold certified factory. Another of his factory - Snowtex Sportswear - is also in the process of getting LEED certification.
Though a green project needs much investment, modern technology reduces its utility cost, saves energy, and enhances productivity, he noted. "Thus we can provide more benefits to workers, which also helps reduce labour migration," he added.
Industry people opined that all customers, irrespective of sectors, are now looking for sustainable forms of production. Sustainability will be the key differentiator in future between the factories that will succeed and the factories that will fail. In future, only the sustainable units will remain competitive and will survive.
BGMEA President Dr Rubana Huq said, "This is like rise from the rubble. We have taken the issue of sustainability as our core area of concern in a proactive manner after the Rana Plaza disaster."
It is the strongest counter narrative of Bangladesh RMG industry, she noted.
The global practice in the developed countries is investing in commercial spaces or buildings for such construction, following the size of their service sectors. But the scenario is just opposite in Bangladesh, people involved with the process said. Apparel makers are setting up the green units, among others, to overcome the image crisis, caused by various industrial accidents, including Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashion fire, they noted.
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak, however, has affected the sector's green growth, as the process of certification got stuck, while many units are facing financial crisis, they added.