The dress code in Bangladesh just got a lot more casual, thanks to an effort to cut the nation’s energy usage. According to the prime minister’s orders, men can no longer wear ties, jackets, or suits to work. The new rule is part of a plan to combat the power shortage the country is facing. And during the year’s hottest months (March through November), men need only wear pants and shirts, which can even be untucked(!).
Bangladesh has taken other measures to decrease energy usage, according to BBC:
Officials and ministers have also been told not to turn their air-conditioners below 24C [or 75 degrees Fahrenheit]. In June, the government introduced daylight saving, and the clocks moved forward by one hour, in another attempt to cut energy consumption.
It has said it will also soon spend $6bn (£3.6bn) on new power plants, operated by private companies. The current state-owned plants have not been able to keep up with Bangladesh’s large population and its economy, which has been growing at about 6% annually for the past five years.
Seems like this idea could be, well, suitable for other heat-drenched places such as the southern United States. After all, it’s actually pretty ridiculous to bundle up for work, then use valuable energy to keep the buildings we work in comfortably frigid.
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Image: flickr /skyfaller
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Japan does something similar nowadays, with “Cool Biz” – during the hot summer months, businessmen, administrators and other suit-wearing people are expected to forego neck ties and coats (or only wear them during customer meetings) and turn up the airconditioner a couple of degrees.
And surprisingly, it seems to have caught on big time. This past few summers neckties have been few and far between, and my morning commute have been full of people sporting relaxed open-neck shirts rather than the white stiff-collared business shirt of winter. Clothing stores are happy as they finally have some kind of summer wear to sell to men (not just women) and the salarymen themselves seem rather more relaxed when they’re not being slowly cooked in their own juices on the train anymore. For less formal offices there’s even a summer trend of wearing Okinawan patterned shirts, making for some much needed splashes of color in the office.
September 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
“After all, it’s actually pretty ridiculous to bundle up for work, then use valuable energy to keep the buildings we work in comfortably frigid”
I noticed this when I moved to Houston from frigid Canada last year. In the peak summer months the AC in most public buildings is turned up so high that you actually had to put on extra clothing not to feel cold.