The world's second-largest garment exporter, Bangladesh, is trying to introduce greener alternatives in textile production. The attempt could help the country secure its position in the international market.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. uz Zaman
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More than 100 garment factories in Bangladesh have recently received the "green building" certificate from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), an NGO that assesses environmental issues of commercial and residential settlements.
Around 500 more manufacturers are waiting for their certificates, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). These efforts to make the industry more eco-friendly are expected to secure Bangladesh's apparel and textile exports a competitive place in the global market.
What makes a factory building green?
A "green" building contributes to climate protection by lowering its carbon emissions, using renewable energy, reducing groundwater usage, using recyclable material and growing plants and trees in its premises, Nazli Hossain, an architect working with USGBC Bangladesh told DW.
Therefore, in order to be declared eco-friendly, a building must contribute to nine different aspects that encourage sustainability. These are location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environment quality and innovation in design.
The cost of cheap clothes
Where do five-euro t-shirts come from? Slovenian photographer Jost Franko's latest series reveals the journey of low-priced garments from the cotton fields in Burkina Faso to the high-street shops in western Europe.
Image: Jost Franko
From rags to riches
The idea of farming seems today more abstract than ever before. Jost Franko's latest photo essay brings this distant world back to our reality, in which the ridiculous price of garments is paid by workers living in dire conditions. Pictured here is a relative of Issa Gira (67) from Burkina Faso, who's been growing cotton for 30 years, but still earns less than a dollar a day.
Image: Jost Franko
Weight control
After the crop is harvested, farmers just like these two in Burkina Faso have to bring the cotton to the collection centers in nearby villages. Just before the market day, farmers help each other press the cotton into a huge, hard mass so they're able to weigh their loads. "No one really cares about farming, the first part of the supply chain," says Franko.
Image: Jost Franko
The golden lining
Cotton farming gives work to more than four million people in Burkina Faso, and it is its second-most-valuable resource after gold. Sofitex is one of the three companies in the country that buys cotton from farmers and provides loans to cultivators, and it exports around 540,000 tons of cotton annually. Local farmers are seen here loading cotton into one of the many Sofitex containers.
Image: Jost Franko
Work-life imbalance
"Due to western cotton subsidies, which are creating a dumping effect, poor countries are in a huge loss," says Franko. In his opinion, the production of cotton and garments in third-world countries is just another form of colonialism. "Small workshops sometimes take subcontracted work for larger companies. The rent is expensive for most workers, so they sleep in the factories," he adds.
Image: Jost Franko
A princess' dress or a cushion?
In this photo, garment workers cut the textile in a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the heart of the global cheap clothing industry. They earn 2.20 euros ($2.36) a day on average. Companies like H&M, Walt Disney or Lidl have their garments and home textile lines produced in the Dhaka region, which made the headlines in 2013 when the Rana Plaza sweatshop building collapsed, killing 1,129 workers.
Image: Jost Franko
The other side of the EU
"It's hard to talk about fair conditions even when it comes to expensive, high-fashion labels," Franko claims, describing this photo of Romanian garment workers. "The state of the garment factories in Romania is much better compared to most Asian and African countries, but wages are still extremely low, not exceeding 200 euros a month, which is worse than in China. And this is the EU!"
Image: Jost Franko
Last season's styles
Although the fashion industry has been stagnating trend-wise recently, which has made more styles trans-seasonal, more than 80 billion pieces of clothing are purchased every year worldwide. But the low quality and purchase cost make the clothes disposable. In the US alone, more than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated annually.
Image: Jost Franko
Get the London look
"The history of cotton is indeed a dark one, and in my eyes, the issues surrounding the cotton trade have never ended," states Franko. Although much has been written and spoken about the invisible and destructive line of the clothing industry, customers seem to be immune: "I guess it's easier to turn a blind eye to it. Those issues are structural, and don't have to do only with garments."
Image: Jost Franko
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Based on how companies rate in these aspects, the USGBC awards a "green building" certificate in four categories, including platinum, followed by gold and silver, and a basic category known as "certified."
Eco-friendly and competitive
Depending on size of a factory, establishing green infrastructure requires 20 to 25% percent additional investment compared to a traditional garment building, according to Bangladesh's garment exporter association.
"I additionally invested 25% to earn the highest score for a platinum certificate," Mohammed Fazlul Hoq, managing director of Plummy Fashions Limited, a textile factory in Bangladesh, told DW.
Additionally, the demand for eco-friendly fashion is also getting bigger and although "green investments" do not produce immediate returns, there is a need to meet this demand, Faisal Samad, a senior official at the garment exporter association told DW.
The dark side of fashion
Recently, an explosion at a textile factory near Dhaka killed 10 peopleImage: Getty Images/AFP/M. Uz Zaman
Factories in Bangladesh are notorious for their low level of safety and poor rights for workers. In 2013, a multi-storied garment manufacturing unit at Rana Plaza in Dhaka collapsed,killing over 1,000 workers. A year before, 112 people died in a factory fire near the capital, Dhaka.
The incidents generated huge international attention, together with the demand for immediate action to ensure safety standards in the country's apparel sector.
Plummy Fashions' Fazlul Hoq is aware of the close scrutiny Bangladesh's factories are subjected to and believes that an additional "green" certificate may help the country's factories become more competitive in the global market.
Abdul Matin, General Secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bangladesh Environment Movement) feels that the introduction of green buildings in the garment industry would definitely contribute to climate protection, but factory owners need to treat effluents effectively as well. He urges textile entrepreneurs to set up waste treatment plants in every factory to reduce pollution.
