Bangladesh apparel and textile executives, policy experts and sustainability specialists said on Thursday that environmental compliance must be matched with measurable industrial innovation, as tighter international rules make sustainability a baseline condition for global apparel trade.
The remarks came at a technical seminar on advancing innovation and sustainability management, held as part of the Textile Innovation Expo 2026 at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka.
The session ran from 12:20 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Hall 08 of the expo’s Innovation Demonstration Zone. Organizers said the discussion focused on actionable strategies for navigating stricter international requirements while bridging the gap between compliance and innovation. The event brought together apparel sector stakeholders, policy experts and sustainability leads.
ABM Faqrul Alam, sustainability lead at Urmi Group, and S M Rayhan Hossain, Bangladesh country manager at the ZDHC Foundation, delivered keynote presentations. Md. Abdul Muhit of Amin & Jahan Corporation Ltd moderated the panel, which included Dr. Ummul Khair Fatema of Bangladesh University of Textiles, Mashook Mujib Chowdhury of DBL Group, Mohammed Al Tauhidul Islam of Envoy Textiles Limited and Mehedi Hasan Rubel of Bluesign Technologies AG.
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Speakers said global fashion accounts for nearly 8% of greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of global wastewater. They noted that emerging regulations, including the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and mandatory digital product passports, are pushing brands to prove responsible resource use across supply chains.
Bangladesh earned $39.34 billion in merchandise exports and has more than 290 LEED-certified green factories, according to the speakers. Even so, they said wet processing alone still consumes nearly 1,500 billion liters of water annually, making resource efficiency and chemical management critical to long-term competitiveness.
Engr. Ehsanul Karim Kaiser, chairman of Textile Innovation Exchange, presented mementos to the panelists after the seminar.