This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Investing in cooling for Bangladesh's apparel factories can be commercially viable, with an average payback period of one to four years, according to new research from Cornell University's Global Labor Institute (GLI). "Everything is constantly changing and costs are rising," said Jason Judd, executive director of GLI, during an eCornell Keynote presenting the research.
"But we know that heat stress levels in general are rising, while factory earnings may be up or down, while the fashion industry as a whole is flat or falling. We calculated two different scenarios—the headwind scenario and the worst-case scenario. Across all these factories and all these variables, the payback period for cooling solutions was one to four years." For the report, "Six Seasons, Four Summers: How to Solve Fashion's High Heat Problem," the researchers used datasets from eight Dhaka-region apparel factories and three dozen workers' homes to calculate the costs of high heat stress in 2025 and estimate the returns on cooling investments.
The findings show that Dhaka experienced a seven-month heat stress season in 2025, which the authors called "the new norm." Heat stress in factories consistently exceeded outdoor levels. Researchers found the greatest exposure to heat stress in the cutting, ironing and finishing sections, where workers spent a substantial share of their working time during the hottest months in the "caution," "high" and "severe" heat stress zones. Workers found little relief outside the factory.
Most also experienced rising heat stress at home, limiting their recovery time. Hotter homes drove up electricity, medicine and other household costs. In surveys, workers reported borrowing money, pawning belongings or cutting spending to afford fans, electricity and health care during the hottest months.
"Wages are, along with the engineering solutions, among the most important technologies available," Judd said. "Living wages would allow workers to invest in electricity for their homes, for efficient fans, for the medicines that help power them through these hot months, and perhaps most importantly, for homes that help them escape the worst of the high heat stress season." The authors call for greater coordination among brands, manufacturers, governments and international institutions to address extreme heat in apparel workplaces and share the costs of adaptation. Report: Six Seasons, Four Summers: How to Solve Fashion's High Heat Problem BA art history, MA material culture.
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