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Bangladesh mills feed on fast fashion, but slow down on green energy

Energy costs continue to rise despite the closure of factories

Solar energy could help the industry go green

As mills struggle to transition to energy, jobs are lost

Tahmid Zami Tahmid Zami

Textile manufacturers are looking for new ways to produce cloth that is more affordable and has a stronger environmental credential.

They risk bankruptcy.

Bangladesh, the second-largest fashion exporter in the world, exported clothing worth $38.5 billion dollars last year. It supplied high-street giants like H&M and Zara.

The company aims to increase its exports to $40 billion by the end of this year.

Other apparel hubs have caught up and are overtaking.

Vietnam, Bangladesh's closest competitor, is expected to surpass Bangladesh this year with exports projected at $44 billion, free from the energy crisis and political instability which have ravaged Bangladesh in recent months.

According to the NGWF (which represents textile workers in the country), the crisis has led to a series of plant closures, leaving more than 50,000 people without a job.

What is a green transition?

The slow adoption of green and cheap energy alternatives has led to a growing dependence on fossil fuel imports. This strains the 1,800 energy-guzzling mills.

Petrobangla, a state-owned energy company, proposed in January to more than double the price of industrial gases. This prospect set alarms off on factory floors.

Bangladesh is seeking to reduce the cost of energy and power subsides it offers to promote economic stability as per the International Monetary Fund.

The proposed increase would be on top of the 150% hike in gasoline prices for large industry and the 56% rise in minimum wages for workers between 2022 and 2024.

Textile factories rely heavily on fossil fuels to generate energy. This is especially true during the most intensive production stages, such as dyeing or finishing, which account for 80% of all emissions.

A report commissioned by H&M Foundation, Laudes Foundation and the consulting firm FSG found that saving energy could reduce costs and the carbon footprint of the sector.

More costs, more competition

Bangladesh's textiles are characterized by cheap labour and energy, but these advantages are being steadily eroded. Abdullah al Mamun is the director of Abed Textile, a local mill.

He said that further increases in energy prices would lock us into a deathtrap.

The competition for local mills is also increasing from outside the country. Cotton yarn imports, mainly from India, have increased by 40% over the past year.

Monower Hossain is the head of sustainability at Team Group in Bangladesh, a supplier of garments and textiles.

Bangladesh is increasingly reliant on fossil fuel imports to produce electricity due to its diminishing domestic gas reserves.

According to an environmental campaign group report, if the country doesn't use more renewables the cost of fuel imports is going to put the economy even further in jeopardy.

Ways forward

Sun power is a great solution to factories and mills.

Team Group has installed rooftop solar panels at a factory that could potentially provide half of its electricity requirements. Hossain, from Team Group, explained that solar panels are only effective when the sun is dim or rainy.

Even if 100% of the electricity needed was generated by solar energy, mills would still use massive amounts of fossil-fuels to power boilers which heat water and create steam for dyeing fabric and finishing it.

To ensure that power is always available, many mills use generators (also known as captive power plant). These generators are only 36% efficient, and so consume a lot of gas.

Shafiqul alam, the lead energy analyst for Bangladesh, at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, (IEEFA), said that industry must be smarter to reduce costs.

According to the report, installing more efficient generators that burn gas and recovering waste heat can reduce gas consumption by 25-31%.

You can also reduce water consumption by replacing gas boilers with electric ones or by using more efficient dyeing methods.

Hossain, from Team Group, says that these measures require large investments up front.

Apparel impact Institute (AII), an organization that promotes sustainable investments, has revealed that more than $1 trillion in investment will be required to reach net zero for the global fashion sector by 2050.

Most suppliers cannot afford to make such investments and instead are urging fashion brands and financial institutions, who are able to finance them, to do so.

(source: Reuters)