Credit: 行 刘 from Pexels

Relatively simple changes to the way traditional brick kilns operate in Bangladesh can reduce pollution, save fuel and improve the quality of bricks they produce.

But research has found that those productivity gains did not translate into better conditions for the people doing the work. The findings come from a multiyear research effort involving Nina Brooks, assistant professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and affiliate faculty member of the Center for South Asian Studies.

The research began with a question: Could an industry essential to Bangladesh's rapid urban growth, but also a major source of air pollution, become cleaner without requiring kiln owners to make expensive investments in new technology?

The answer was encouraging. But it led to a harder question: If cleaner production also makes businesses more productive and profitable, do workers share in those gains?…