Mostafiz Uddin

The world’s attention has been focused on the UN Climate Summit in New York that ended on September 23.

These are very challenging times for the Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) industry. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) recently announced that since February this year, 46 RMG factories have closed down and 25,000 workers have lost their jobs.

If you want to understand the present, look to the past. All the talk right now in apparel supply chains is of new technology, automation and robots potentially replacing humans. We read constantly about how customisation is the future—that consumers want to go online and bespoke their clothing to their own specific requirements. “Personalisation” is the name of the game. Surely it is far better to have personalised products than mass customisation, right? Perhaps so, provided that you are prepared to pay for it, but who is? How many people do we see wearing personalised apparel products?

A total of 66 companies have received the National Export Trophy award recently, in recognition of their extraordinary performances in the country’s export earnings in 2016-17.

Over recent weeks, as the world celebrated the achievements of Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11 50 years ago, and with

A common cry we hear in global textile supply chains is that near-shoring is a more sustainable and perhaps ethical option for apparel brands. In the past couple of years, we have seen evidence—albeit limited—of this, with the US President Donald Trump talking about bringing manufacturing home, and efforts by the UK to redevelop its once-burgeoning textile industry.

The fashion industry is among the most polluting industries in the world, while demand for inexpensive fast fashion products is increasing the burden on the natural environment.

Imagine if you had in your hands an extremely precious resource. While you have lots of this resource, you only have a finite amount—it won’t last forever.

Each day in garment manufactu-ring facilities around the world, including in Bangladesh, millions of metres of fabric are wasted.

Bangladesh's apparel industry has changed dramatically over the nearly 40 years since its inception, enjoying rapid expansion, employing some four million people (with 65 percent of the workforce being female) and contributing over USD 32 billion to the nation’s economy last year.

All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall,” is a famous quote traditionally associated with the titular heroes of the novel The Three Musketeers written by Alexandre Dumas, first published in 1844.

As a nation, we should be proud that Bangladesh has become one of Asia’s most remarkable and unexpected success stories in recent years and has been ranked 41st among the world’s largest economies in 2019 in a report published by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Bangladesh has achieved an economic miracle over the past three decades, but it cannot afford to rest on its laurels now.

On April 22, people in countries across the world took part in a global day of political and civic action for World Earth Day, an annual event dedicated to environmental protection, first celebrated in 1970.

The news that at least 26 people died and many others were injured after fire broke out at the FR Tower in Dhaka's Banani was another tragic reminder of the everyday dangers faced by citizens of this country.

Sustainabi-lity in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) industry is a subject that is never far from people's minds and occupies conversations with customers and industry partners.

The dynamics of the global apparel retail industry are changing rapidly, more so than during any time in the past 100 years. We are witnessing a rapid shift to online fashion retail and the closing of traditional brick-and-mortar shopping centres.

The ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh is entering an important new chapter in its history. Decisions made now by the industry and its leaders could have important long-term ramifications.

The signing of a Mem-orandum of Understanding (MOU) early last year between the BGMEA and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) was, quite rightly, much applauded by the national press.

The apparel retail landscape has changed rapidly in recent years. While there are still some laggards in the industry, most brands want to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability, with smart brands now recognising that operating in a sustainable manner goes hand in hand with business success.