the clothing value chain of Bangladesh. The study uses mixed methods to examine the state of awareness, barriers

to adoption, enablers and integration with the 5.0 technologies using a survey of 300 professionals from the

sector and 22 interviews. The results suggest moderate levels of adoption, with large firms adopting the measure

while SMEs face financial, technical and organizational constraints. The adoption of Blockchain enhances

visibility of material flows along with operational efficiency, sustainability reporting, and its integration with

Industry 5.0. The main enablers are sustainability requirements driven by buyers, operational benefits as well as

technological partnerships. The main barriers are high costs, skill deficits, and resistance to change. This research

adds to the theory of blockchain for sustainable supply chain management in an emerging economy and provides

implementation recommendations for practitioners, policymakers, and international buyers. Bangladeshi RMG

firms can achieve zero waste production, operational transparency, and global competitiveness through the

Textile giant Bangladesh pushed to recycle more waste, 2025) The sector, although economically important, is

facing increasing pressure to adopt greener practices. This is due to the increasing environmental concerns,

global awareness by the consumers and regulatory frameworks (Al Amin & Rahman, 2025; Khan & Rahman,

2023). One of these issues is textile waste: waste that is generated at various stages of production and distribution

and ultimately in coming back to its life cycle after consumer use (Yadav & Singh, 2020; Investigating the impact

of sustainable SCM, 2024). It is essential to minimize this waste while maintaining supply chain efficiency to

ensure we stay in line with the circular economy as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Saberi,

Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2019; Lin & Chen, 2021).

The decentralized, immutable, and real-time traceable nature of blockchain technology can enable organizations

to overcome the supply chain challenges (Badhwar, Islam, & Tan, 2023; Chowdhury, 2018). In the fashion and

integrating blockchain into Bangladesh where the RMG industry is a major player based on global supply, would

be beneficial (The Role of Supply Chain Transparency, 2025; Hussain & Karim, 2022).

Fashion industry as a whole in Bangladesh has not widely adopted blockchain. Senior-level export-oriented

companies are doing pilots with blockchain technology to trace their production, materials, and waste

management practices (Digital Transformation in Bangladesh’s RMG Supply Chains, 2025; Implementing

Blockchain Technology, 2024). Nonetheless, SMEs face obstacles with high costs for implementation, lack of

technical know-how, regulatory ambiguity and resistance to change (Devising a Mechanism, 2022; Supply Chain

Management for Garments Industries, 2018). Studying these adoption aspects will certainly help us in

formulating scalable and effective blockchain integration strategies to encourage zero-waste practices

throughout the fashion value chain (Investigating the technological impact, 2025; Ahmed & Hossain, 2024).

to achieve (Park et al., 2020; Yang & Li, 2021) transparency, traceability, and ethical compliance while staying

competitive.

The study addresses the following objectives.

The current study has been conducted with the specific objectives as mentioned below. Together, there will be

blockchain is a solution for zero-waste management. Moreover, it scopes this study in the technological and

sustainability frame.

Blockchain technology is a distributed, secure, and immutable ledger that can empower supply chain

stakeholders to maintain verifiable records of production, logistics, and material consumption (Badhwar, Islam,

& Tan, 2023; Agrawal & Pal, 2019). According to studies of fashion supply chains, blockchain ensures that there

is transparency along the end-to-end supply chain. Moreover, it allows firms to track their raw materials and

production batches as well as finished products in real-time (Tan et al., 2022; Park et al., 2020). Transparency is

fundamental to checking sustainability claims, tracking supplier behavior, and giving customers truthful product

for SMEs (Devising a Mechanism, 2022; and Miraz, Sharif, & Hassan, 2018). This indicates that the government,

technology suppliers, and gradual adoption are possible solutions to these barriers (Ahmed & Hossain 2024;

As summarized in Table 1, prior studies reveal that blockchain applications in the textile and fashion sectors

Defective products and fabric offcuts may be recorded on the ledger of the blockchain, which will enable firms

to trace the recycling and repurposing of products (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2019; Shah & Ahmed, 2021).

Research shows that with the help of IoT sensors, blockchain can improve material traceability and minimize

post-production waste (Lin & Chen, 2021; Zhao et al., 2020). Using real-time waste generation allows companies

to modify cut patterns and optimize batch sizes while also applying the circular economy strategy to lower impact

(Xu et al, 2019, Tan et al, 2022). In Bangladesh, many RMG companies have started pilot projects to log their

production waste on blockchain platforms to make it visible to the buyers and help them standardize their

operations as per international sustainability protocols (Digital Transformation in Bangladesh’s RMG Supply

Chains, 2025; Investigating the Technological Impact, 2025). However, obstacles still remain due to restricted

digital literacy and reluctance to automation by small manufacturers. (Ahmed & Hossain 2024, Devising a

2020).Research highlights that blockchain-enabled Industry 5.0 systems allow dynamic inventory management,

real-time waste reduction, and enhanced product traceability, fostering transparency for regulators and end

consumers (Park et al., 2020; Yang & Li, 2021). In Bangladesh, integrating blockchain with smart manufacturing

Although blockchain has several potential uses, its adoption is hindered by technological, organizational, and

regulatory barriers (Devising a Mechanism, 2022; Supply Chain Management for Garments Industries, 2018).

One of the major challenges in Bangladesh is the high cost of implementation and fragmented supply chains

(Ahmed & Hossain, 2024). Moreover, there is a lack of skilled personnel (Miraz, Sharif, & Hassan, 2018).

Moreover, as a result of inadequate infrastructure (Implementing Blockchain Technology, 2024; Niloy, 2024),

resistance to change is more likely in SMEs. Several study suggest (Sarker & Uddin, 2024; Al Amin & Rahman,

willingness through blockchain application and Industry 5.0. I see barriers to adoption, especially for SMEs,

requiring policy, and training, and tech assistance. The literature indicates that the blockchain and principles of

economy strategies in the context of developing countries (Yadav in addition to Singh, 2020; Xu et al, 2019).

There is a major gap in our knowledge on this matter. This is particularly true as Bangladesh is one of the biggest

apparel exporters in the world and faces major environmental pressures from textile waste and resource-hungry

production (Investigating the impact of sustainable SCM, 2024; Shah & Ahmed, 2021).

The chapter presents the findings of the study that was conducted using the mentioned instruments in the

The context of the findings will be elaborated relative to blockchain adoption, zero-waste fashion and digital

transformation in emerging countries.

2022).

• Improved tracking and transparency (Mean = 4.21, SD = 0.63).

• Improved waste tracking and zero-waste compliance (Mean = 4.05, SD = 0.71).

• Strengthened buyer trust and increased compliance with sustainability standards (Mean = 4.17, SD =

0.68).

The results of the study were similar to other studies that have been done internationally indicating how

blockchain can be used as a tool to achieve transparency in supply chain and sustainable operations (Badhwar,

Islam and Tan, 2023; Park et al., 2020; Li and Wang, 2020). Interviews reinforced these findings. A senior supply

chain manager in Dhaka stated. Blockchain technology helps us keep track of the production waste and each

batch of fabric. Shoppers are now looking for evidence of sustainability and this technology helps us do that.

the world because of limited capital and low infrastructure. Cited as a moderate barrier was regulatory

uncertainty β=−0.21, p<0.05. These findings align with global studies on blockchain adoption, which suggests

that cost, complexity, and fragmented supply chains are limitations to widespread implementation (Devising a

Mechanism, 2022; Queiroz et al., 2019).

Interviewees emphasized three primary barriers-

A technology officer explained. The reason SMEs are hesitant is because they think Blockchain is hard and

Survey analysis revealed that stakeholder pressure, perceived operational benefits, and Industry 5.0 integration

were key enablers

SEM results indicated that Industry 5.0 integration positively moderated the relationship between perceived

benefits and adoption (γ = 0.28, p < 0.01), demonstrating that firms leveraging human-centric and automated

often driven by:

This aligns with literature emphasizing that blockchain is most effective when integrated with complementary

These results suggest that blockchain not only provides traceability but also drives operational changes that

reduce environmental impact, consistent with prior studies (Yadav & Singh, 2020; Shah & Ahmed, 2021; Xu et

al., 2019).This confirms that blockchain supports zero-waste objectives when combined with operational

monitoring and human oversight, reinforcing the Industry 5.0 framework (Radanliev et al., 2020; Tao & Qi,

2019).Survey data indicated that IoT devices, predictive analytics, and AI algorithms significantly enhance