The International Finance Corporation on Tuesday launched a web tool named PaCT Portal to calculate resource consumption in the country’s readymade garments industry. The initiative comes as the IFC-led Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT II) enters its third year with eight partners working together to reduce the environmental impacts of the activities of the exportoriented sector, said a press release. The portal was launched at the PaCT annual meet held in Dhaka where panel discussions focused on issues including low-carbon opportunities in the textile industry.  The panelists also highlighted how emerging consumer behaviour and choices are now shaping the global apparel market, the release said. Supported by Denmark, Australia, and the Netherlands, PaCT’s multi-stakeholder partnership has already helped the industry to save 25 billion litres of water and 2.5 million megawatt hours of energy annually. Launched in 2018, PaCT II works with 132 factories to adopt state-of-the-art efficiency solutions and reduce water, energy, and chemical use to meet global standards. Five textile brands – VF Corp, PUMA, Levi Strauss & Co, TESCO, and GAP Inc – have partnered with the PaCT programme while the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association is the implementing partner. The IFC release said that the data-driven monitoring software would provide realtime analytics for readymade garment factories, helping them in their efforts to improve use of resources, such as water and energy.  ‘Through programmes like PaCT, we hope to contribute towards improving sector competitiveness by promoting resource efficiency through innovative ways and evolving with global trends,’ IFC country manager Wendy Werner said. Nishat Chowdhury, programme manager for PaCT, said that this monitoring tool would work as an analytical information exchange platform to help with users’ decision-making regarding water and energy consumption. It can play a big role in leading the industry towards sustainability and achieve results that are right for the industry, the planet and our future generation, she said. In a video message, BGMEA president Rubana Huq said that the industry had saved a huge amount of water and energy through the collaborative partnership with PaCT. ‘We would like to think and shape tomorrow for the better and we can only do that by being the best of partners in the days to come,’ she said.

In recent years, China is losing its market share to its competitors in the global apparel market already hit by the trade war with the US.

Global apparel buyers, both existing and new, are thinking to relocate work orders to Bangladesh from China which has been badly hit by the outbreak of coronavirus. However, the opportunity is wider for the knitwear sector with a strong backward linkage industry.  In the last couple of days, Bangladeshi manufacturers and exporters of such goods have received an increased number of queries from the US and the European Union buyers, who are looking for alternative sources. In recent years, China is losing its market share to its competitors in the global apparel market already hit by the trade war with the US. New virus rubbed salt in the wound of previous business relocation as buyers are thinking now of alternative sourcing destinations. “One of my European buyers has started negotiating to shift its part of work orders from China to Bangladesh as it fears the virus may affect the supply chain,” Mohammad Hatem, managing director of MB Knit Fashion Ltd, told Dhaka Tribune.  “But they have wanted to know how we will ensure supply of fabrics, accessories and other raw materials as Bangladesh is highly dependent on China for raw material,” said Hatem.

Bangladesh’s clothing industry is likely to be seriously affected by the impact of coronavirus as the country imports almost half its raw materials requirement for the sector, exporters say. They said the sector is facing uncertainties as the death toll from the novel virus exceeded 900 on Monday. The country imported textiles and other raw materials from China worth $5.02 billion during fiscal year 2018-19, according to the lobby group Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BGMEA. Besides, about 40 per cent of the capital machinery and spare parts for the textile and garment industry comes from China, whose Wuhan city was the epicenter for viral infection. Garment export contributed 84.21 per cent to Bangladesh’s total exports income of $40.53 billion in the last fiscal. Total garment exports amounted to $34.13 billion posting an 11.49 per cent growth during the period, the state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows. In contrast, Bangladesh’s total raw materials and other imports from China totalled $13.65 billion last fiscal. Former BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman told the FE that exporters are worried about the garment shipments as China is the country’s biggest raw material supplier. “If the coronavirus epidemic lingers on in China, Bangladesh’s apparel production will definitely be affected,” he added.The opening of letters of credit (L/Cs) for raw materials import from China has been affected, Mr Rahman said. He said, “Buyers from the US and the EU are not travelling to Asian countries, including Bangladesh. We are also not visiting Hong Kong and China. So, the business is almost going to be stagnant.” BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq told the FE that the coronavirus crisis has become a concern for the textile and RMG industry in Bangladesh since “we source a significant amount of our raw materials from China.” “While we are deeply sympathetic to the people of China…, it seems the deepening crisis and continued shutdown of facilities in China would have some disruption in our supply chain.” Dr Huq expressed the fear that the impact would be severe for sweater and woven sub-sectors. “The Chinese holidays have been extended for seven days… if the crisis persists, it will lead us to an irrevocable disaster of the supply chain.” The waiting time of vessels berthing has come down to zero from 4-5 days during mid-January, she said, sensing a slowdown in imports has already started. “If the crisis prolongs, the impact would be severe and perhaps unmanageable,” the BGMEA chief said. Former lead economist at the World Bank Dr Zahid Hussain said the impact on Bangladesh’s garment sector could become severe in case of a lingering coronavirus crisis. He said the country’s woven garment is the most vulnerable to the impact as China is the main raw material supplier. “Bangladesh’s apparel export is already in the negative trajectory. When we need to overcome the sluggish export trend, the Chinese impact is going to make us vulnerable,” he added. Local apparel manufacturers should look for alternative raw materials suppliers like India and Pakistan for offsetting the China effects, Dr Hussain argued.