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Bangladesh garment industry

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest apparel exporter behind China. A building collapse in Savar, near the capital of Dhaka, on April 30, 2013, that killed more than 400 people has triggered scrutiny over worker safety and labour conditions in the country.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Bangladesh garment industry

Bangladesh’s garment industry lost US$400 million to anti-Sheikh Hasina protests

Industry leaders insist production is ‘currently stable’, but say security forces need to continue protecting garment factories.

Opinion | How Sino-Indian cooperation can help the Bay of Bengal prosper

Opinion | Bangladesh garment worker protests make clear price of fast fashion

Fashion brands face higher costs as Bangladesh workers get almost 60% pay hike

Following a week of deadly clashes between garment workers and police over pay, the government announced a 56.25 per cent wage hike starting on December 1 – the first increase in five years.

Bangladesh garment workers’ protests against low pay leave 2 dead

Protests by Bangladeshi garment workers against low wages have led to two deaths amid a spike in the costs of basic foodstuffs and other items.

A decade after Rana Plaza, Bangladeshi workers fight for better pay, conditions

More than a decade after 1,100 garment workers died in the Rana Plaza collapse, Bangladeshi garment workers say factories are safer, but progress on better pay and conditions has been far slower.

‘We need it to end’: Bangladesh seeks China’s help to repatriate Rohingya

Beijing has used its influence in Myanmar to broker a repatriation agreement before, Bangladesh’s foreign minister noted, but the Rohingya refugees previously refused to return.

Boon or burden? Asian alternatives to Xinjiang cotton find US ban challenging

US’ boycott of Xinjiang cotton looks to reshape the global textile supply chain by isolating China, but suppliers in places such as Vietnam and Bangladesh could face setbacks as they shift away from such a major source of cotton.

Dhaka river now a toxic mess

At least 10 killed, 22 injured in India factory blast

Fire broke out after a boiler exploded in the factory at an industrial facility in Dhaulana in the Hapur area of Uttar Pradesh state, around 60km from New Delhi

Eye on Asia | How Bangladesh surged past India on road to South Asian economic stardom

Murder trial over factory collapse that killed 1,130 resumes

Bangladesh’s US$35 billion garment trade is second in size only to China’s, but fires and factory collapses are common due to lax regulations.

Jeans with planet power: ‘dirty’ denim is turning green to save the world

Denim brands such as Levi’s and Outland Denim, a Meghan Markle fave, are making strides towards producing jeans (long thought bad for the planet) in more environmentally friendly ways.

Asia’s apparel industry threatened by rising sea levels, study warns

The analysis warns that the problem of rising sea levels is receiving little attention and smaller-scale suppliers would be most affected, highlighting the example of Bangladesh.

As Bangladesh turns 50, repression grows amid economic boom

Critics say democracy is being eroded as PM Sheikh Hasina enacts increasingly repressive rules where a cartoon or Facebook post could land one in jail.

How coronavirus pandemic propels modern slavery in Asia’s garment industry

According to latest analysis, India and Bangladesh have joined Myanmar and China in the category of ’extreme risk’.

Covid-19 boom for Bangladesh garment makers

Coronavirus cuts a swathe through Asia’s garment industry

Lockdowns, cancelled orders and closed factories have seen hundreds of thousands of workers laid off across Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Topshop and Gap leave vulnerable fashion workers high and dry, say activists

Companies including Walmart and Gap won’t commit to paying in full for recent garment orders. This has forced factories to lay off staff, who lack financial support and may be vulnerable to slavery.

Global textile industry braces for sharp downturn as virus slashes orders

Supply chain disruptions and vanishing customer orders following the coronavirus outbreak have left the global textile industry reeling and wary of more pain to come.

Hong Kong’s domestic worker shortage: Bangladesh can help out

Hong Kong needs more foreign domestic workers, not only to care for its ageing population, but also to counter a policy long threatened by Indonesia.

Move over ‘Made in China’. It’s ‘Made in Bangladesh’ era now

Soaring wages at home have seen many Chinese firms set up shop in Bangladesh, boosting its economic growth

Bangladesh factory safety monitors given court extension

Factory owners had been lobbying for the monitors to leave, arguing that the programme’s five-year mandate had expired, but global clothing brands took the issue to the Supreme Court and won.

Bangladeshi garment workers want higher wages, get police brutality

The progress made in the country’s garment industry since the 2013 tragedy, when 1,134 workers were killed after a building collapsed, has evaporated.

Eye on Asia | The rise and rise of Bangladesh

It is undoubtedly a time for celebration for Bangladesh, but simultaneously the country should note and address many challenges that its economy continues to face.

Women making clothes sold in Australia earn 51 cents an hour

Nine out of 10 workers interviewed in Bangladesh said they could not afford enough food for themselves and their families and were forced to skip meals or go into debt.

Spice Girls gender equality T-shirts made in low-paying Bangladesh factory

The charity tops, bearing the message ‘#IWannaBeASpiceGirl’, were produced by mostly female machinists who said they were forced to work up to 16 hours a day and were verbally abused by managers

Bangladesh police and underpaid garment workers clash in mass protest