IFC partners with Levi Strauss for environmental sustainability in textiles factories in Bangladesh, beyond

The IFC has partnered with famous jeans-wear manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co (LS&Co) to develop a global programme to reduce water, energy, and chemical use in textiles factories.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

It said the new partnership would build on the “extensive experience” of IFC’s Bangladesh Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) programme, focusing on providing advice on implementing cleaner production practices in over 165 textile factories in Bangladesh.

This is the first time that the IFC PaCT programme will be implemented outside Bangladesh.

Initially, a pilot is planned in six facilities in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

“We are pleased to be the first IFC partner to pilot its PaCT program in additional countries,” Michael Kobori, vice president for sustainability, LS&Co, was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Our goal is to scale the practices globally to achieve greater reductions in water, energy, and chemical use across our supply chain,” he said.

The global textile sector faces environmental challenges related to water, energy, and chemical use that leave a large footprint on the world’s environment.

The implementation of cleaner production measures can reduce the use of natural resources, mitigate threats to humans and the environment, and promote greater overall efficiency through improved production practices, the IFC said. 

“The global textiles sector makes strong contributions to the economies of several countries, creates jobs, especially for women, and has pioneered implementing climate-friendly environmentally-sustainable practices,” Mohan Seneviratne, IFC Program Manager for PaCT, said.

“We are delighted that IFC’s PaCT program is partnering with Levi Strauss & Co, to develop this global environmental-sustainability program.”

PaCT aims to help LS&Co. reach this goal through cleaner production assessments and PaCT Advantage, a web-based diagnostic process, to develop a roadmap for continuous improvement by suppliers.

The results of the PaCT Advantage diagnostics can then be benchmarked across sites and countries.