Bangladesh Government will be honouring 10 readymade garment manufacturing factories with the ‘Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Good Practice Award’, aimed to promote top-notch sustainability standards in the country’s blooming apparel industry.
This is the first time ever that such a recognition is being handed out at the state-level. A jury board formed to this effect by Ministry of Labour and Employment shortlisted the 10 factories from a pool of applications, reads a press note of April 17, 2018.
The factories that will be awarded are: Square Fashion Ltd., Snowtex Outwear Ltd., Ecotex Ltd., Tarasima Apparels Ltd., Veolatex Ltd., AKH Eco Apparels Ltd., Knit Concern Ltd., Wisdom Attires Ltd., Hoop Loon Apparels Ltd. and Fakir Fashion Ltd.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid will be handing over the honour to the garment factories on April 28, 2018, when Ministry of Labour and Employment will be observing National Professional Health and Safety Day, at a gala programme at Krishibid Institution, Dhaka.
Applications for the award were invited since April 1, 2018. Factories eligible for selection required a minimum 5,000 worker-base and enlisted with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and 2,000 worker-base enlisted with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
Notably, Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers have heavily invested in factory standardisation and creating a safe working environment for the workers after a series of major industrial disasters like Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions fire tainted the industry’s reputation worldwide.
At present, Bangladesh has around 67 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified factories, which shows that the country is working to be the greenest manufacturing hub.