When Shefali Akter first sought a job at a garment factory near Bangladesh’s capital, the crowding, heavy workload and poor salary led the 19-year-old to resign after a year and return to her rural home in northern Bangladesh.
But when she came back to the garment factory region west of Dhaka with her new husband a few years later, she found conditions at some factories had dramatically changed for the better.
At the Snowtex Group plant where the 26-year-old now works, she earns 13,500 taka (just over $128) a month, gets extra pay for overtime, a nutritious free lunch and a day off each week.
The well-ventilated factory – along with a sister facility nearby – has seen solar panels installed, cutting energy costs by half.
Rainwater storage facilities and measures to cut waste have slashed water consumption by 30 per cent, factory officials say.
The plant’s grounds, heavily planted with trees, also have their own vegetable gardens, offering employees the chance to buy inexpensive organic tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower and red amaranth.
Bangladesh’s garment factories have long been known for producing low-cost garments in often harsh working conditions, but international pressure for more green and sustainable clothing production is starting to change that.
Bangladesh now has 186 factories certified as green by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard, up from three in 2014.
Of those, 62 have earned a platinum rating, 110 a gold rating and 10 a silver rating, for progress toward lowering carbon emissions, water and energy use, and waste, and making transport and materials more sustainable, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Points are also awarded for improvements in worker health and the quality of indoor work environments.
Business analysts say that after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory, which killed more than 1,130 people in 2013, factory owners facing foreign and domestic criticism have stepped up efforts to provide a safer working environment.
As part of that push, some have also become interested in creating more environmentally friendly factories – a shift that is spreading, particularly as international buyers trying to meet their own green commitments seek out more climate-friendly factories.
Today, Bangladesh has the highest number of eco-friendly factories among the world’s garment exporting countries, according to the BGMEA.
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