Mostafiz Uddin

Knowledge is power” is an adage I am fond of saying to my team, and this expression keeps springing to mind with the growing attention that is being given to how the readymade garments (RMG) sector of Bangladesh will develop as the nation prepares to evolve from a least developed country to a developing one, with the official developing country status expected to be awarded by 2024.

Since 2009, the largest global summit on sustainability in the fashion and manufacturing sector has been hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The readymade garment (RMG) sector plays a pivotal role in the economy of Bangladesh, accounting for more than 83 percent of the country's exports and contributing approximately 16 percent to the GDP, with around 4,000 factories employing around four million workers.

All men are created equal, as the United States of America's Declaration of Independence states, and this is a principal that should be admired and adopted by all developing nations in the world today. But how far has this principal been implemented, and what improvements can be made to further develop this ideal within the RMG sector of Bangladesh?

Fashion is perhaps the most dynamic industry of this modern age. We are living in an era of fast fashion where trends come and go, and where product is being regarded more and more as a disposable item. Speed is taking over all aspects of the fashion supply chain and many of the everyday features of life, in particular with regard to the way the consumer communicates.

The government of Bangladesh is moving ahead with a plan to establish 100 Special Economic Zones by 2030.

There has been a healthy debate as to whether Bangladesh should open up Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the apparel sector where, until now, the majority of investors are local entrepreneurs, with the exception of some foreign companies who have invested in garment businesses inside the Export Processing Zones (EPZs).

I read an interesting article the other day about a cotton spinning company based in Manchester, England. Although the company, by Bangladesh's standards, produces high volumes of product, it has established a niche for itself in the UK and Japan with customers who appreciate both quality and locality of resource.

The government of Bangladesh has recently formed a new wage board for the readymade garment (RMG) industry where 4.4 million workers are currently employed. There are around 45 industrial sectors in our country, each with its own set minimum wage. This means that there is no national minimum wage.

Whenever there is a discussion about trade, investments, exports and economic growth, quite often much focus is placed upon infrastructure as the core challenge of our export growth. But is it the only hurdle?

As global brands transcend borders by inspiring and engaging consumers through innovation and investors with the promise of higher turnover, sometimes rivalling that of some developing countries, it is no longer a question of how to compete with another nation.

The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a recent conference that about two thirds of jobs in the developing world may be lost due to automation.

Bangladesh plans to increase its apparel export to the global market with a high ambition of reaching the USD 50-billion mark by

China remains the undisputed global giant in the textile and apparel industry. Its share of global apparel export is about 37 percent while the share of Bangladesh, the second largest readymade garment exporter in the world, is only about 6 percent.