Ten brands have joined Bangladesh’s Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) industry program. Among these are Bestseller and Gap. Through this program these brands are working for sustainable industrial practices in their supplier factories in Bangladesh.

The PaCT program stands to support textile factories in Bangladesh by introducing resource efficiency and best practices and by promoting doing more with less—the most cost-effective way to reach resource sustainability. Major activities will include conducting basic cleaner production and deep dive assessments, and implementation assistance to identify opportunities to improve resource (water, energy, and chemical) efficiencies in the factories.

In addition the program will help the nominated factories increase efficiency in resource use and gain sustainability in their businesses. It will provide technical support to integrate a management diagnostic tool within the nominated factories’ processes and facilitate access to quality and reliable information on resource-efficient technologies and solution providers.

If Bangladesh is to reach its strategic target of $50 billion in readymade garment exports by 2021, this would result in an additional demand for water of over 3,400 billion liters by 2030, which is equivalent to the annual water needs of a population of approximately 75 million people. The implementation of cleaner production measures will positively impact the overall costs of water supply and pollution control.