Mostafiz Uddin

Doing business has become an increasingly costly endeavour in the global ready-made garment (RMG) industry.

Made in Bangladesh” is a brand which now resonates around the world, thanks to the size and global reach of our RMG industry.

One thing that our industry people appear to be the best at is explaining, often in great detail, the problems and challenges that we face.

Last week, I wrote about the implications of COP26 on the RMG sector in Bangladesh. Since then, representatives from the fashion industry have made another major announcement at the climate conference, which could set off serious reverberations in the global fashion supply chains over the next decade.

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) started last week in Glasgow, Scotland. Bangladesh, appropriately, is being represented at the global climate event by a delegation from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), led by President Faruque Hassan.

A decade ago, global management consultant McKinsey published a report titled “Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garments Landscape:

The footprint of Bangladesh in the global apparel industry can be traced back to the early 1980s, and by now the industry has achieved phenomenal growth in exports.

The world might look a very different place 10 years from now. If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted—in life or in business.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a new report which looks at how the economies of the least developed countries (LDCs) have progressed during the past 50 years.

Can we decouple business growth from climate impacts? This is the thorny question that no politician wants to answer right now, and it is easy to understand why.

As a clothing manufacturer, there are a great many legal and regulatory hoops I must jump through in order to remain in operation without falling foul of the law.

The US government has passed well-documented “anti-dumping laws” aimed at providing a level playing field and protection for the local industries.

Recently I wrote about how Bangladesh’s RMG industry needs to move towards renewable energy in order to gain a global competitive advantage in garment production. Here I want to look at some of the challenges our industry faces in its shift to renewable and cleaner energy, and how to overcome these challenges.

Competitive advantage comes in many different shapes and forms. Product quality, speed, flexibility and, of course, price. All have their place in influencing whether a company should choose one supplier over another.

To grow and fulfil its potential in the coming years, I believe Bangladesh’s RMG industry needs to adapt when it comes to management.

If one were to read the international media, one might be given the impression that Bangladesh is a wasteland, when we all know that it is anything but.

Around the world, the issue of human rights due diligence in global supply chains is rapidly rising up the agenda. But what does this mean and how will it impact garment manufacturers in Bangladesh?

After all the talk of “bouncing back better” in our industry during the past 18-months, we are still failing the people who make our clothes.

In Bangladesh, we are missing a trick by failing to capitalise on a resource which could super-charge our RMG industry into a bold new era. What resource? Female leaders and executives. Look at the world’s most successful economies and you will find that one of the most defining features is the prevalence of females in positions of leadership and management. This rule also applies for the world’s top businesses.

The RMG industry’s challenges are too big to solve at the individual level.