The garment and textile industry has considerable environmental impacts. Increasing global and local awareness of these impacts steadily intensifies the pressure on producers to integrate sustainable manufacturing practices along the entire value chain. The introduction and progressively efficient implementation of stricter regulations as well as supply chain standards require all stakeholders in Asian textile and garment value chains to take appropriate measures. To do so, many of the different stakeholders first need to acquire or expand the necessary skills and knowledge. The need for sector-specific governance and systematic development of adequately trained professionals in the Asian textile and garment value chain is particularly high in the area of environmental and chemical management.
As part of the regional initiative for promoting sustainability in the textile and garment industry in Asia (FABRIC), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), together with its partners in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Vietnam, supports joint efforts to establish the prerequisites for these countries to commonly position themselves on essential sustainability aspects and to exchange knowledge. The regional initiative aims to promote and support regional cooperation and networking among various stakeholders to identify and follow common approaches and tailor them to country-specific needs. While Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam have been identified as focus countries for interventions regarding environmental topics, neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and China will be included in dialogue processes. Focus topics are sector-specific chemical management, water efficiency, waste water and sludge management as well as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, supporting local partners in achieving conformance with international supply chain requirements plays an important role.
Together with its partners, Reed Consulting, TÜV Rheinland and Espire, adelphi supported the FABRIC initiative in fostering the exchange of knowledge among various stakeholders on sustainable management of resources and the environment. adelphi took a lead role in collecting existing knowledge available from previous initiatives, carried out by the GIZ and its partners, transforming it into a suitable format and complementing it with further knowledge input. Subsequently, the collected knowledge is being disseminated through replication mechanisms evolving from established regional networks in order to contribute to an effectively improved sectoral environmental performance.
