Can Bangladesh 'climate proof' garment jobs in a warming world?

For Bangladeshi garment and textile manufacturer DBL Group, climate change is a growing threat it cannot afford to ignore.

Mohammed Zahidullah, chief sustainability officer for the business which employs about 35,000 workers at its factories near Dhaka, said a heatwave dented productivity last year, while riverside fabric-dyeing factories face worsening flooding risks.

"A large-scale flood like the one recently witnessed in Pakistan could spell havoc for our industry," he warned at DBL's office building in Gulshan district, which maximises use of daylight including with sensors to save on electricity.

This is one way the company - whose multinational clients include H&M, Walmart-George and Puma - is playing its part to rein in global warming, along with deploying technology that recovers heat from generators to heat water and planting trees to alleviate extreme heat for its workforce.

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