Short Note on the Seminar on Accelerating Circular Transition in Bangladesh’s Textile Industry
On May 6, 2026, Prof. Dr. Imranul Hoque and Prof. Dr. S.M. Shafiul Alam participated in a high-level seminar titled “Accelerating Circular Transition in Bangladesh’s Textile Industry: Insights from SWITCH2CE Pilots” jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at the Inter-Continental Hotel Dhaka.
Honorable Minister of the Commerce, Industry and Textiles & Jute Ministries – Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, MP was the chief guest of the seminar and Md. Abdur Rahim Khan, Secretary (in charge) of the Ministry of Commerce was the seminar chair. H.E. Michael Miller, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh was the Special Guest, the President of BGMEA- Mahmud Hasan Khan was the Guest of Honor, the seminar was addressed by the Chief Technical Advisor of SWITCH2CE-UNIDO – Mark Draeck; and Regional Country Manager of H&M Group – Ziaur Rahman and Chief Representative of BESTSELLER Bangladesh- Mehmet Hakan Tüzün presented their initiatives for accelerating circular transition.
A number of garment suppliers and recycling firms, including CYCLO, RECOVER, IRC of BGMEA, Fakir Knitwears Ltd., DBL, Zaheen Knitwears Ltd., SME Foundation, SARAZ Fiber-Tech Ltd., Reverse Resources, and Recycle-Raw displayed their circular economy initiatives and practices in Bangladesh.
The event marked a concluding reflection on the SWITCH to Circular Economy Value Chains (SWITCH2CE) pilot initiatives implemented by UNIDO in partnership with global fashion brands H&M Group and BESTSELLER. The seminar highlighted that circularity within Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry has evolved beyond a conceptual ambition and is now recognized as a commercially viable approach, closely aligning with the research focus of the ongoing CREATE (Circular Economy in Bangladesh’s Apparel Industry) project.
As shared from the lessons learned from the two industrial pilots and the event discussion, the findings from the SWITCH2CE seminar directly reinforce and provide empirical data for the Circular Economy in Bangladesh’s Apparel Industry (CREATE) project. CREATE’s objectives align with the pilot results in several ways, including validating the “Business Case”, bridging the Capability Gap, Policy & Ecosystem Building, and Global Value Chain (GVC) Retention.
