Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh

This study examines the environmental sustainability of three textile factories in Bangladesh with varying levels of LEED certification: Platinum LEED-certified (Factory A), Gold LEED-certified (Factory B), and non-LEED-certified (Factory C). Following LEED standards for water usage and pollution co...

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Main Authors: Md Shamsuzzaman, Mazed Islam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Cleaner Water
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950263225000237
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author Md Shamsuzzaman
Mazed Islam
author_facet Md Shamsuzzaman
Mazed Islam
author_sort Md Shamsuzzaman
collection DOAJ
description This study examines the environmental sustainability of three textile factories in Bangladesh with varying levels of LEED certification: Platinum LEED-certified (Factory A), Gold LEED-certified (Factory B), and non-LEED-certified (Factory C). Following LEED standards for water usage and pollution control, both untreated and treated effluents were collected from these factories and subjected to chemical analysis. The findings were assessed against established limits for parameters including Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), pH, and color. Effluent samples were collected three times a month, and average values were used in the analysis. The results indicated that LEED-certified factories possess greater capacity for effective water use and treatment system design compared to non-certified factories. Significant increases in key metrics such as BOD, TSS, TDS, turbidity, and pH are recorded across all factories after ETP treatment, demonstrating the efficacy of wastewater treatment techniques. Although initial (untreated) effluent samples from all factories exceeded acceptable standards, post-treatment results for Factories A and B achieved compliance with standard parameters, while Factory C was found to require a comprehensive overhaul to meet environmental sustainability requirements. The research shows that LEED certification greatly inspires factory managers to adopt and execute sustainable practices in manufacturing, water management, and effluent treatment. It highlights the necessity of effective wastewater treatment techniques in reducing environmental impact and meeting compliance with regulations in fashion manufacturing. It also emphasizes the technical constraints faced by non-LEED-certified facilities in Bangladesh. Findings will inspire a wide range of stakeholders, including academics, researchers, and industry practitioners, to emphasize reducing the environmental effect of knit textile production. Furthermore, findings will assist industry practitioners in making viable strategic decisions to improve the environmental sustainability of fashion manufacturing.
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spelling doaj-art-f5c09f8da51949e18b8460c4be4207c02025-08-20T02:06:08ZengElsevierCleaner Water2950-26322025-06-01310008510.1016/j.clwat.2025.100085Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from BangladeshMd Shamsuzzaman0Mazed Islam1Department of Textile Engineering, World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Fashion and Textiles, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Corresponding author.This study examines the environmental sustainability of three textile factories in Bangladesh with varying levels of LEED certification: Platinum LEED-certified (Factory A), Gold LEED-certified (Factory B), and non-LEED-certified (Factory C). Following LEED standards for water usage and pollution control, both untreated and treated effluents were collected from these factories and subjected to chemical analysis. The findings were assessed against established limits for parameters including Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), pH, and color. Effluent samples were collected three times a month, and average values were used in the analysis. The results indicated that LEED-certified factories possess greater capacity for effective water use and treatment system design compared to non-certified factories. Significant increases in key metrics such as BOD, TSS, TDS, turbidity, and pH are recorded across all factories after ETP treatment, demonstrating the efficacy of wastewater treatment techniques. Although initial (untreated) effluent samples from all factories exceeded acceptable standards, post-treatment results for Factories A and B achieved compliance with standard parameters, while Factory C was found to require a comprehensive overhaul to meet environmental sustainability requirements. The research shows that LEED certification greatly inspires factory managers to adopt and execute sustainable practices in manufacturing, water management, and effluent treatment. It highlights the necessity of effective wastewater treatment techniques in reducing environmental impact and meeting compliance with regulations in fashion manufacturing. It also emphasizes the technical constraints faced by non-LEED-certified facilities in Bangladesh. Findings will inspire a wide range of stakeholders, including academics, researchers, and industry practitioners, to emphasize reducing the environmental effect of knit textile production. Furthermore, findings will assist industry practitioners in making viable strategic decisions to improve the environmental sustainability of fashion manufacturing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950263225000237Environmental sustainabilityLEED certificationWastewater treatmentFactory performance
spellingShingle Md Shamsuzzaman
Mazed Islam
Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
Cleaner Water
Environmental sustainability
LEED certification
Wastewater treatment
Factory performance
title Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
title_full Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
title_fullStr Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
title_short Environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country: Insights from Bangladesh
title_sort environmental sustainability practices in effluent management of fashion manufacturing in developing country insights from bangladesh
topic Environmental sustainability
LEED certification
Wastewater treatment
Factory performance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950263225000237
work_keys_str_mv AT mdshamsuzzaman environmentalsustainabilitypracticesineffluentmanagementoffashionmanufacturingindevelopingcountryinsightsfrombangladesh
AT mazedislam environmentalsustainabilitypracticesineffluentmanagementoffashionmanufacturingindevelopingcountryinsightsfrombangladesh