US hemp fibre company Panda Biotech to collaborate with the BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) to introduce US-grown sustainable hemp fibre to Bangladesh's apparel exporters from October.

At a meeting on Thursday, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Faruque Hassan stated that the garment sector is devoted to producing items that are good for people and the environment.

Faruque led a BGMEA delegation to the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) Executive Summit in Washington, DC. Faruque met Mark D'Sa, Business Development, Panda Biotech, a rising leader in the industrial hemp fibre market, on the margins of the conference on March 10 in Washington, DC.

The meeting was attended by BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Directors Abdullah Hil Rakib and Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan, as well as Shams Mahmud, Chairman of the BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell.

Md Salim Reza, Commercial Counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, S M Khurshid-Ul-Alam, Commercial Counsellor at the Bangladesh Consulate General in Los Angeles, and Gazi Mahbubul Alam, Director of Mahmud Group, were also present.

They explored the breadth of possible cooperation and involvement with Panda Biotech to help the Bangladesh RMG industry use environmentally friendly hemp to create high-quality, environmentally conscious garments.

Bangladesh's garment industry, according to Faruque Hassan, has made remarkable progress in integrating sustainability into the core of its operations over the years.

According to him, the industry is looking at every conceivable route for incorporating sustainability into textile manufacturing in order to supply consumers with environmentally friendly clothing.

Bangladesh's RMG business is turning away from cotton and toward non-cotton products to improve environmental sustainability, he said, adding that hemp can be a great complement to cotton.

Industrial hemp is a regenerative crop that requires little water to grow, uses few to no pesticides and herbicides, produces a high per-acre fibre yield, and absorbs more CO2 per acre than any forest or commercial crop.