More than 40 global apparel brands, local manufacturers and recyclers have joined a new initiative to capture and reuse textile waste in Bangladesh, sources said.
The initiative is focusing on Bangladesh as it arguably possesses the most in-demand and recyclable waste of any garment-producing country, but the majority of its waste is currently being exported or down-cycled, they added.
According to them, there is an ample opportunity to make it a leader in circularity by scaling the recycling capacity in the country and generating more value from these waste streams.
Following the hardships in the country generated by Covid-19, this approach is also aimed at building industry resilience in future.
Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) on Tuesday announced the participants of 'Circular Fashion Partnership' including global brands H&M Group, C&A and Marks & Spencer, according to a statement issued by GFA.
The GFA is a Copenhagen-based non-profit organization which mobilizes and guides the global fashion industry to take bold action on sustainability.
The Circular Fashion Partnership is a cross-sectoral project, led by GFA, with partners Reverse Resources, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and P4G which aimed to achieve a long-term and scalable transition to a circular fashion system.
The partnership facilitated circular commercial collaborations between major fashion brands, textile and garment manufacturers, and recyclers to develop and implement new systems to capture and direct post-production fashion waste back into production of new fashion products.
In addition, the partnership seeks to find solutions for the Covid-19 related pile-up of dead stock and engage regulators and investors around the current barriers and economic opportunities in the country.
The other brands which joined the move are: Bershka, Bestseller, Gina Tricot, Grey State, Kmart Australia, OVS, Pull & Bear, Peak Performance and Target Australia.
Amantex, Asrotex Group, Auko-tex Group, Aurum Sweaters, Beximco, Bitopi Group (Tarasima), Composite Knitting Industry Ltd, Crystal International Group Limited, Echotex, Fakir Knitwear, GSM, J.M. Fabrics, Knit Asia, MAS Intimates, Ratul Group (Knitwear & Fabric), Salek Textiles, S. B Knit Composite (Sankura Dyeing and Garments) and Northern Group are local manufacturers.
The recyclers included Birla Cellulose, BlockTexx, Cyclo, Infinited Fiber Company, Malek Spinning Mills, Marchi & Fildi Spa, Lenzing AG, Recovertex, Renewcell, Saraz Fibre Tech, Usha Yarns Limited and Worn Again Technologies.
Through collaboration among the participants, the partnership aimed to build a successful business model for adopting more circular processes.
It plans to facilitate a decrease in textile waste and increase the use of recycled fibres, distributing value throughout the fashion value cycle and generating economic benefits in Bangladesh by accelerating the fiber recycling market.
According to the statement, the business model and project learning will be presented at the end of 2021 in a 'Circularity Playbook for Bangladesh', which will be used as a guide to replicate the partnership in other countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
Quoting Morten Lehmann, GFA CSO, the statement said, "To establish a circular fashion system, we need to re-imagine the production process so that it appreciates the value of textile waste."
"It is encouraging to see so many prestigious companies sign up to the Circular Fashion Partnership and with their help, I am confident that we can demonstrate a strong business model for circularity that can be mirrored by others in the future," Lehmann added.
