Just by recycling cotton waste collected from fabric mills and factories, Bangladesh’s garment industry can save up on $500 million in their annual spending budget. 250,000 tons of cotton waste was produced in 2019 which was not recycled. This analysis has been made by the Circular Fashion Partnership (CFP), a project that promotes recycled materials in fashion. Moreover, imports can scale down to a whole 15 percent if only the 100% pure cotton waste is recycled which includes cuttings and yarn from the end of bobbins.
On the other hand, this cotton waste which is not properly recycled is utilized by domestic collectors to fill in the mattresses or it is exported for recycling. Moreover, it is also incinerated for energy by manufacturers. However, these practices are not properly supervised and are hence not well traceable.
Bangladesh’s garment industry has more than 4 million employees and the country’s economy is build up on the readymade garment industry, especially the exports as they come up 80%.
CFP started their journey for sustainability in February and has brought together clothing brands, manufacturers and recyclers to find the best solutions for a viable system. Primark and Benetton whose retailers are H&M and C&A were among the latest fashion brands to join the project.
