Business Desk :
The garment makers have spent over 30 per cent more for establishing green factories, but international buyers are still reluctant to pay higher prices for the produce made in the globally complaint units.
The garment makers made the comment at the launching programme of securing green transition of the textile and readymade garments sector in Bangladesh at Brac Centre in the capital on Sunday.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue and Sweden Sverige organised the programme for the green garment factories in Bangladesh.
The garment manufacturers have constructed the green factories as a part of their effort to protect the environment and brighten the image of the sector by saving 30 per cent energy and water consumption, the manufacturers said.
“However, we are not getting the premium prices from the retailers and brands,” said Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd, the greenest knitwear factory in the world located at Narayanganj.
The number of green garment factories in the country has now stood at 157 as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) on Sunday awarded the green certification to two more factories.
Of them, 47 are platinum rated while 96 gold, 10 silver and 4 are just certified by the USGBC, according to data from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The USGBC awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to Bangladeshi factories.
Nearly 500 more garment factories are waiting to be LEED certificated by the USGBC.
