The government has initiated a move to prepare a National Chemical Management Guideline for the country's textile and readymade garment industry.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German government is assisting the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) in formulating the guideline, according to a statement.
The MoC organised a consultation session at a city hotel on Sunday to share the draft guideline with the stakeholders and gather their suggestions in this regard.
The guideline will help the textile and garment industries run chemical management in an efficient way that is safe for the workers in the factories and at the same time environment-friendly.
Although Bangladesh's textile and RMG exports have occupied the second position in the global market for quite a long time, there is no national guideline to control the chemical management, added the statement.
Consequently, the textile sector is forced to comply with different standards set by different fashion brands.
A comprehensive national guideline on chemical management would help address this challenge, it added.
The draft guideline has been prepared through separate consultation with the main stakeholder groups.
Joint secretary of the MoC Kamrunnaher presided over the session where Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) director Asif Ashraf, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice president Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) vice president Abdullah Al Mamun and Textile Cluster Coordinator of GIZ Bangladesh Werner Lange spoke, among others.
Representatives from the ministries of environment, forest and climate change, industries, labour and employment, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology , Bangladesh University of Textiles, BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT), textile and garment factories, different international brands, chemical manufacturers and suppliers and local and international service providers took part in the ession.
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