Brands should finance garment sector’s green transition: experts

Global fashion brands must help finance Bangladesh’s garment sector’s shift to clean energy while protecting workers’ rights and livelihoods, speakers said at a Dhaka dialogue yesterday.

They called for fair purchasing practices, accessible financing and safeguards to prevent manufacturers and workers from bearing the transition’s costs.

Organised by Stand.earth, Oxfam in Bangladesh and Breaking the Silence, the dialogue at Lakeshore Hotel brought together policymakers, brands, manufacturers, trade unions and development organisations, according to a press release.

Chief guest Kazi Rafiqul Islam, a member of parliament and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Planning, said the energy transition was an economic, social and humanitarian transformation, not merely a technological shift.

“While making the industry eco-friendly, we must ensure that workers’ employment, fair wages, safe working environments and social security are not compromised,” he said.

Bangladesh, the world’s third-largest apparel exporter and ninth most climate-vulnerable country, faces significant climate risks, with around four million garment workers, many of them women, particularly exposed to rising temperatures and flooding.

Rachel Kitchin, senior campaign manager at Stand.earth, called for brands to contribute a fair share of decarbonisation and energy-efficiency costs through collective, shared or grant-based financing.

A recent Stand.earth Research Group study found that 15 brands could help Bangladesh avoid 1.26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2040, or 8.59 million tonnes cumulatively.

Rumana Rashid, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, stressed the need for training and reskilling as factories adopt cleaner energy and more efficient machinery. Workers’ voices and experience must also inform decisions, she said.The 2025 Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard found that only six of 42 major brands provided suppliers with decarbonisation finance, while just one did so without increasing their debt.

Atwar Rahman, interim head of the project management unit at Oxfam in Bangladesh, said climate and economic justice must go hand in hand. Razequzzaman Ratan, president of the Socialist Labour Front, and BTS Executive Director Roksana Sultana also spoke at the event.

Stand.earth introduced the Clean Fashion Investment Pact, followed by discussions on a roadmap for women workers, transition financing and climate adaptation.