Tag Archives: Bangladesh garment industry

Garment waste can potentially generate $4 billion annually. Garment waste management exemplifies the idea of one man's trash being another man's treasure. If tapped correctly, it has the potential of bringing in $4 billion annually.

As Bangladesh looks down the barrel of two humanitarian disasters beyond its control, its government and garment industry risks manufacturing a third. In August, once-in-a-century floods left one third of the country underwater, killing at least 145 people, displacing 300,000, and decimating swathes of Bangladesh’s agricultural heartland. As the water settles and recedes, aid workers say they desperately lackthe supplies needed to stave off disease.

The Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC), formed to monitor workplace safety in the garment sector, should be independent and credible so that it can take sound decisions to avert further industrial accidents. “If there is a good system in place and if the retailers and brands continue sourcing from Bangladesh, it is expected that there will not be any disaster in the garment sector,” said Jim Moriarty, executive director of the Alliance, the factory inspection platform of 28 North American retailers.

Fraudulence involving buying houses has continued to surface with some British and local ones being accused of cheating five Bangladeshi garment factories of $3 million. The accused closed their Dhaka offices and have been absconding for the past one year, one of the victims told The Daily Star yesterday.

Bangladesh faces a tremendous challenge. How will it provide jobs for the 20 million young people set to join the labor force over the next decade? In the past, the country relied on the garment sector to drive its economy and exports, as well as to employ many workers. This was successful in many ways. Today, Bangladesh is the world’s second largest producer of ready-made-garments in the world, and apparel comprises 83% of Bangladesh’s exports.

A move has been initiated to review wages of readymade garment workers against the backdrop of workers’ movement for pay hike and demands from national and international labour rights groups. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has requested the government to form a minimum wage board in this regard as the apparel factory owners have expressed their willingness to raise the workers’ wages.

Shirin has been with us for 12 years, Mahmuda for nine, Rakib for six. The number of workers who have worked for us in one particular factory for over 10 years is massive. Most live in Khilkhet, where we have one of our factories. We are currently scheduled to shift to a new one in Bangla