Bangladesh’s garment industry, the world’s second-largest exporter of clothes, could reduce its annual spending by half a billion dollars if it recycled cotton waste from its factories and fabric mills, a circular economy group said on Wednesday.

Its government might think the worst of the pandemic’s impact has passed, but Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry needs continued support before it can achieve a new normal, Shahidur Rahman writes.

Dhaka muslin was so light it was known as woven air, so thin that those who wore it were sometimes accused of indecency and so complicated to produce that the knowledge of how to make it has since been lost. Now, however, researchers in the United Kingdom...

The Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association has demanded the government to withdraw the Bank provision that makes the bonded warehouse licence mandatory for opening back-to-back letters of credit.

Bangladesh, for one, has grown into the world’s second-largest clothing exporter because of its low costs, while Vietnam has become a favorite alternative to China for producing sneakers and textiles.

Union leaders in Bangladesh are urging the government to reject a plea by garment manufacturers to suspend a planned five per cent hike in the minimum wage for garment workers because of the pandemic

A combination of factors — US ban on Chinese cotton, a sudden surge in orders for garments, additional stocking up, increased exports to Tirupur’s competitors including Vietnam and Bangladesh — have resulted in a yarn shortage for garments exporters.

For many countries, especially in Southeast Asia, the garment industry is the backbone of their national economies. Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam have dealt with the lion’s share of issues facing the global garment industry caused by COVID-19.