Pabna is well-known as a hosiery manufacturing centre, supplying a variety of garment items such as inner wear, legwear, and socks across Bangladesh.
This knit fabric-based sector was nearly destroyed by the advent of contemporary manufacturing techniques in the early 1980s, but it persevered by reusing garment waste.
Over 1,000 factories of all sizes are now functioning in the area, all of which rely on garment waste to manufacture their products, providing much-needed possibilities for small businesses.
Around 820 registered knitwear makers are doing business in Pabna district, producing garment materials from waste. The industry employs over 12,000 to 15,000 people in the district while increased exports are helping to bring in foreign currency as well. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to many hardships for his business for the past one-and-a-half years. The president of the hosiery group has called on the government to help small and cottage industries survive the fallouts from the Covid-19 crisis. He said raw material costs are soaring while the price of finished products remains relatively the same. “If the government takes initiative and gives support, the small entrepreneurs can survive this pandemic,” he said.
