With over seven decades of excellence, Dekko ISHO Group has been contributing to Bangladesh’s economic and industrial development with purpose and vision. Founded in the 1950s and guided by three generations of visionary leadership, the Group has continually evolved, embracing new opportunities while staying true to its values. Today, with a strong presence across multiple industries, it remains firmly rooted in world-class apparel manufacturing, driven by innovation, responsibility, and sustainability, and committed to shaping a better future for generations to come.
Recently, Team Textile Focus had a conversation with Mr. Rakib Bin Zaid, Head of Sustainability, Dekko ISHO Group, key discussion points are mentioned below for our readers-
Textile Focus: When did your sustainability journey begin, and what motivated you to enter this field?
Rakib Bin Zaid: My journey started in 2012 when I joined the textile and RMG sector as an Electrical Engineer. Back then, my world was operational – energy systems, manufacturing efficiency, cost control. But the more time I spent on the factory floor, the more I started seeing the bigger picture.
What shifted my thinking wasn’t a single moment; it was gradual. I saw how decisions made at the production level ripple outward: into communities, into waterways, into workers’ lives. I realized that if you’re serious about building a business that lasts, you can’t treat sustainability as a side function. It has to be at the center of how you operate and how you think. That realization turned into a professional obsession, and honestly, it still drives me every day.
Textile Focus: What are the current sustainability practices and achievements at Dekko ISHO Group?
Rakib Bin Zaid: At Dekko ISHO Group, sustainability is woven into our business strategy and daily operations. Through a comprehensive ESG approach, we drive responsible growth, resilience, and long-term value creation.
On the environmental side, we’ve installed solar across multiple facilities, including 1.7 MWp at Dekko Garments Ltd., and procured 13,421 MWh of I-RECs for 2025 to reduce our Scope 2 emissions significantly. Through our partnership with Reverse Resources, we now recycle 40% of our textile waste, with paper, lubricants, and e-waste handled through specialized partners. One initiative I’m particularly proud of is Ecovia, one of our strategic business units, which has developed patented compostable packaging solutions from textile waste. It addresses two challenges at once by transforming production waste into valuable resources while reducing reliance on conventional plastic packaging. Water stewardship is another priority: wastewater treatment, ZDHC-aligned chemical management, rainwater harvesting and treated water reuse are all operational across our facilities.
On the social side, we invest meaningfully in employee well-being, healthcare access, childcare support, mother-at-work programs and women’s leadership development. We also actively support surrounding communities through partnerships with organizations like Shishu Palli Plus. These efforts are backed by certifications, including SBTi, ZDHC, GOTS, LEED Gold, ISO 14001, and others, but the certifications reflect the work, not the other way around.
Textile Focus: What ongoing sustainability initiatives are you currently working on?
Rakib Bin Zaid: Our current focus is on translating our 2030 sustainability roadmap into measurable action. A key priority is expanding renewable energy capacity across our facilities through additional solar installations and renewable energy procurement. We’re also increasing textile waste recycling rates and strengthening waste traceability, so we understand not just how much waste is generated, but exactly where it goes and what it becomes. At the same time, we’re deepening supply chain transparency to better understand and report environmental and social impacts across our value chain.
Alongside the environmental work, we continue to invest in employee capability-building and workplace well-being. Sustainability means very little if the people delivering it aren’t growing alongside the business.
Textile Focus: How do you see the current sustainability scenario in Bangladesh’s textile and RMG industry?
Rakib Bin Zaid: Bangladesh has come a long way and that deserves recognition. The investment in green factories, worker safety, and cleaner production over the last decade has been real and significant. We’re now among the top sustainable sourcing destinations globally, and that didn’t happen by accident.
But I think we’re at a crossroads. Easy wins – LEED certifications, ETP installations, compliance audits; most serious players have those covered. The next phase is harder. It requires embedding sustainability into business strategy, not just factory infrastructure. It means supply chain transparency, credible emissions reporting, and genuine social impact. The industry needs to stop treating sustainability as a cost of doing business and start seeing it as a source of competitive advantage. The brands and buyers of tomorrow will demand it and the factories that are ahead of that curve will be the ones that survive and grow. At Dekko ISHO, that’s exactly the standard we’re holding ourselves to.
Textile Focus: What are your plans to strengthen sustainability at Dekko ISHO Group?
Rakib Bin Zaid: Our near-term priority is reaching our 80% clean energy target by 2030 through new solar installations and renewable energy procurement. In parallel, we’re working more closely with suppliers to measure and reduce emissions in raw materials, transportation and outsourced processes, areas that are more complex to influence but increasingly important.
On circularity, we’re scaling upcycling initiatives and strengthening waste traceability. On the social side, we’re focused on creating more pathways for women into supervisory and leadership roles and improving how we collect and report sustainability data, so our decisions are grounded in better information. The goal, ultimately, is for sustainability to be indistinguishable from how we run the business. When it’s no longer a separate workstream but simply the way decisions get made, that’s when it becomes truly resilient.
Textile Focus: What recommendations would you offer to advance sustainability within the textile and RMG sector?
Rakib Bin Zaid: First, move beyond the checkbox mentality. Certifications matter, but they’re a floor, not a ceiling. The real work begins after you get the certificate.
Second, invest in people, not just technology. Sustainability doesn’t happen through solar panels alone. It happens when the person on the shop floor understands why it matters and has the tools to act on it.
Third, be honest about where you are. Greenwashing is a short-term play that’s becoming increasingly costly both reputationally and commercially. Buyers are getting more sophisticated, and so are consumers. Transparency, even when it shows imperfection, builds more trust than polished sustainability reports that tell a perfect story no one believes. And finally, collaborate. Bangladesh’s RMG sector is strongest when it moves together. Sharing best practices, pushing for better policy, building industry-wide standards, that’s how we raise the bar for everyone.
