Investing in Heritage: A Financial Viability Framework for Eco-Innovation in Cumilla's Khadi Textile Sector in Bangladesh

This study constructs a comprehensive financial viability framework to revitalize Cumilla's Khadi textile heritage through ‎strategic Eco-innovation. The proposed model integrates sustainable textile production with low-impact heritage tourism, ‎transforming traditional craftsmanship into a dynamic catalyst for regional development. Central to this approach is ‎implementing closed-loop production systems that eliminate pollution through water recycling, natural dye cultivation, and solar ‎energy adoption, while addressing critical infrastructure gaps through multi-modal connectivity that leverages restarting of ‎Cumilla Airport to minimize logistics emissions. This integrated strategy generates substantial triple bottom line impacts, directly ‎advancing multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals through green job creation and women artisan empowerment. The ‎framework rationalizes specific financial instruments including green funds and digital literacy programs designed to attract ‎youth engagement. Empirical validation through rigorous methodologies confirms the model's robustness: a stochastic frontier ‎model analyzes technical efficiency, Activity-Based Costing demonstrates tangible operational advantages, Economic Value ‎Added (EVA) metrics validate financial performance, and VRINE analysis confirms the strategic competitive advantage ‎derived from valuable, rare, and ecologically distinctive resources. This multi-faceted empirical validation establishes the Eco-‎innovation framework as a financially sound and climbable strategy for sustainable development within Cumilla's Khadi sector ‎‎. The author suggested that with support from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and/or the Asian Development ‎Bank (ADB) for infrastructure financing in Cumilla, the government of Bangladesh should propose a detailed development ‎plan aimed at preserving the region's archaeological appearance, natural environment, and heritage, while also considering ‎financial viability. This approach could serve as a model for heritage-based regional revitalization‎.