American chemical company Dow supported a three-year cooperation project with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Dutch ZDHC Foundation to develop more sustainable manufacturing processes within the fast-growing fashion industry in Ethiopia.
The textile industry is one of the key growth sectors in Ethiopia. In recent years, the country has attracted foreign investments for new textile and garment manufacturing facilities and several international brands and retailers have shifted their textile and garment sourcing to Ethiopia.
“Ethiopia has the potential to become one of the leading textile and apparel hubs in Africa. Alongside this growth, there are opportunities to improve chemical management and prevent water pollution,” said project leader Maimuma Hussein, Dow Industrial Solutions.
Through education, training programmes, and business consultancy capabilities, the project successfully paved the way for improved sustainable chemical and waste management practices along the textile value chain, according to a joint press release by Dow and ZDHC Foundation.
The scope of the project was twofold, involving academia and industry stakeholders.
First, the project team worked with the Ethiopian Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology (EiTEX), part of the Bahir Dar University, to implement a technical training programme for lecturers and develop a new chemical management curriculum for undergraduate students. The Ministry of Education in Ethiopia approved the curriculum and adopted it as a national programme of studies.
The second project pillar focused on building awareness and capabilities of factory management and workers across the textile supply chain to implement and maintain an effective sustainable chemical management system based on industry best-practice guidelines from ZDHC. To enable a continued and cost-effective support to local businesses and industry professionals, sustainable chemical management consultancy capabilities were set up through a network of trained local consultants.
“We gladly worked with Dow and GIZ on this project as it directly supports our ‘Roadmap to Zero Programme,’ aimed at leading the fashion industry to eliminate harmful chemicals from its global supply chain by building the foundation for more sustainable manufacturing,” said Klaas Nuttbohm, implementation director of ZDHC Foundation. “Working together with local stakeholders paved the way to improved sustainable chemical and waste management practices being implemented in Ethiopia.”
