Bangladesh is aiming for sustainable growth of exports of textile and leather goods. A fund has been established for the purpose. Only borrowers who keep their factories green will be eligible for loans for the import of factory related capital machinery. The $200 million fund is called ‘Green Transformation Fund’. Export based textiles and leather industries need to maintain their factories environment friendly and conform to norms. They have to follow the criteria of water use efficiency in wet processing, water conservation and management, waste management, resource efficiency and recycling, renewable energy, energy efficiency, heat and temperature management, air ventilation and circulation efficiency, work environment improvement initiatives and other fields as identified may be included from time to time.

The loan period will be from five to 10 years with a one year grace period. Interest accrued for the grace period will be repaid in equal quarterly repayment without compounding. Many Bangladesh leather goods and footwear manufacturers and exporters already use solar panels, air ventilation and heat management. A leather industrial park will have an effluent treatment plant. Manufacturers feel the process of getting funds should come under fine tuning to make the process easier and less complex.