Blog

28 Sep

Ensuring transparency and accountability by Zillul Hye Razi

The launch of a pilot phase for a four-year project in April this year to map the readymade garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh ushered in a new chapter of accountability and transparency in the country’s apparel export business. The Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) of BRAC University will implement this Digital RMG Factory Mapping in Bangladesh (DRFM-B) project with the C&A Foundation as the lead donor and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) as its strategic partner. [...]

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28 Sep

The evolution of Bangladesh readymade garment sector by Forrest Cookson

The readymade garment sector emerged through the establishment of several thousand factories. The following table gives the distribution of factories according to the employment size. There were 5,000 factories at the time of these listings and it will be about the same now. The median factory had 400 employees [BGMEA, BKMEA-member lists with declared employees]. Only 550 factories had more than 1,000 workers and only 176 more than 2,000. The industry started with small factories as it was easy to [...]

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29 Aug

How serious is it for Bangladesh’s RMG export? by Zillul Hye Razi

Export of ‘Made in Bangladesh’-tagged garment items to the European Union (EU) or its duty-free access under a relaxed rule of origin unilaterally given by the EU through GSP for the LDCs may be facing risk of a temporary suspension. The apprehension of such an action by the EU started first with the inclusion of a Special Paragraph in ILO’s report on Bangladesh in June 2016.The ILO report concluded that certain provisions of Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA 2006, amended [...]

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29 Aug

Room remains for honing RMG knowhow

Though Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of apparel items, most of the work orders still come through agents, including buying houses and other third parties, says former apparel trade body chief Md Atiqul Islam in an interview with the FE.To bag the orders directly, the country needs to improve knowhow about fashion, design development, market trend and the product-wise market demand. It also needs to do research on those pressing issues, observes Mr Islam, who is incumbent president [...]

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29 Aug

Traditional physical security system and beyond for Bangladesh’s garment & textile industry by Sha Jalal Haider

Bangladesh has set an export target of USD 50 billion by 2021 for the readymade garment (RMG) sector. The target appears slightly ambitious and sceptical about its attainability after the Holy Artisan Bakery incident in 2016, following which many buyers and foreign nationals became worried about their security. To achieve a target of this magnitude in only five years’ time, it will require a steady growth of around 14 per cent in export income per year which appears difficult [...]

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29 Aug

Avoid becoming a boss from hell—don’t micromanage! by Eric Hwang

One of the common reasons why someone is being labelled by his/her staff members as a “boss from hell”, quite not surprisingly, is micromanagement. Other descriptions associated with this “crime” include being a control freak, tireless follow-ups, constantly watching over staff members’ shoulders, giving unnecessary instructions, treating everyone else as “stupid”, failure to recognise the capabilities of staff members, failure to recognise the staff members’ prior experience and style in handling similar tasks.Yes, we all complain about such a [...]

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29 Aug

Water security is prerequisite to economic growth, sustainable dev by Faruque Hassan

Many of us may not be aware of the fact that the World Water Day is an annual event observed on March 22 as a means of focusing attention to the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. So, let’s commit to not wasting a single drop of water, today, tomorrow and the rest of time.Historically known as a riverine country, Bangladesh has more than 700 rivers, tributaries and different forms of wetlands. The [...]

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29 Aug

Facing up to reality by Forrest Cookson

Someone has to tell the truth.The RMG sector faces difficulties that have been growing steadily and have reached crisis levels. These difficulties must be faced and remedied. Otherwise, the future is bleak. There are five serious problems the RMG sector must recognise and act upon.1. Demand for Bangladesh-produced garments is weakening. Order books are short and some manufacturers report that buyer interest in Bangladesh is falling. Bangladesh is still the low-cost producer in the world market, but buyers are [...]

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29 Aug

Affordable health insurance scheme for RMG workers in Bangladesh by Jamal Uddin

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation piloted an inclusive business project in the readymade garment (RMG) industries of Bangladesh with funding support from The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN). The aim of the project is to test viable business solutions to improve workers’ health while Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR)remain the priority. SNV invited interested private sector companies and NGOs to offer innovative business models which would ensure affordable, accessible and available health services to the RMG [...]

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29 Aug

Opportunity coming Kenya’s way in global garments trade by Mehdi Mahbub

Kenya is rapidly becoming one of the biggest players in the world’s textile manufacturing industry, and is tipped to be one of the next centres for apparel sourcing in East Africa alongside Ethiopia.For decades, the global garment industry has been dominated by the powerhouses in Asia-China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea etc. However, the growth of Asian industry and its dominance have come under increased threat in recent years. Several Asian producers are switching over to a more [...]

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