Challenges in apparel’s circular economy transition in Bangladesh

This research note explains the context of apparel manufacturing to highlight key issues affecting the transition to circularity in supplier countries, most of which are in the Global South. It focuses on Bangladesh, the world’s second largest apparel manufacturer. Fully reusing or recycling pre-consumer textile waste in Bangladesh would not only reduce waste and GHG emissions but also expand wealth creation and employment in the country’s apparel sector through the introduction of new recycling and related technologies. However, the country faces challenges to implement a circular economy in its apparel industry. These challenges include the (i) lack of circular ecosystem and policies, (ii) shared commitment and cooperation among industry actors and the government, and (iii) lack of maturity of circular and traceability technologies. While the latter applies equally to all apparel manufacturing countries, former challenges relate to a current incentive structure embodied in government policies and political relations among different industry actors in Bangladesh that thwart the green transition. Understanding these challenges will help global and local policymakers formulate locally appropriate policies. The European Union’s 2022 textile strategy, which is concerned with reducing resource use and promoting recycling, can only succeed if policies consider the recycling of both pre-consumer and post-consumer-based waste, which involves consumer countries in the Global North as well as apparel producer countries in the Global South. We propose a strategy matrix considering the challenges, which will be useful for assessing a country’s condition on circular economy transition in pursuit of climate action and strategies for Bangladesh’s as well as global fashion industry.