Bangladesh’s apparel industry has all chances of remaining as the world’s biggest ready-made garment producer and continuing to further entrench itself. Bangladesh is already among the world’s greatest readymade garment exporters with its productivity dynamism modernization and enhanced work environment. The industry must however innovate better and diversify if it is to keep pace with the epidemic’s challenges and that of the shift in the global market.
McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, has released a research report titled ‘What is the future of Bangladesh garment industry after a decade of improvement?’ It has been stated here that the epidemic crisis has halted the country’s garment industry at the eleventh hour. While this, on the one hand, has halted the country’s garment industry at the eleventh hour, on the other hand, the shift in the quest for the source of fashion in the world market has endangered Bangladesh’s position in the supply of products.
UK-based fashion website ‘Just-Style’ quotes authors such as Achim Berg Harsh Chaparia, Saskia Hedrick, and Carl-Hendrick Magnus as stating that in order to effectively move the garment sector forward in Bangladesh, it now needs to concentrate on resilience, sustainability, labor development, and resilience.
Mohammad Fazlul Haque, director of Plumi Fashions Limited, the world’s largest environmentally friendly factory, stated, “The shift in the model of sourcing has brought a challenge to the garment sector, but it is not a threat to Bangladesh’s garment sector.” Individuals who work in the garment sector in Bangladesh know about this challenge. But I believe we should pay more attention to this matter.
The reason why Bangladesh enjoys such a great lead in the garment sector is that it has some green factories in the industry and they target environmental and social compliance which other nations have not implemented yet, Haque said. He was also the past president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
He further added, “If we succeed in overcoming those challenges outlined in the report, then these are the opportunities that will lie before us.” To what extent we can profit from here depends on us. Meanwhile, we have to undertake some changes at the policy-making level and in our approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things and we have also transformed the way to adjust to this new normal. For instance, we follow very strict hygiene measures in our manufacturing processes.
Commenting on Bangladesh’s progress over the last ten years in the report, Haque stated, “But at the same time, we have missed out on some opportunities that could have put Bangladesh in a better position.”
Improvement in Textile Industry Decade
A decade back, McKinsey indicated an improvement of 8-9 percent in the industry. Bangladeshi growth in apparel exports has grown twice during these years. Whereas it was 14.6 billion US dollars in 2011, by 2019 it reached 33.1 billion US dollars. Thus, the rate of growth per year is 7 percent. The Textile Sector Has a broad range of occupations, including design, manufacturing production, and retail-related jobs. In this period, the proportion of the Bangladesh textile sector in world garment exports has risen from 4.6 percent to 7.8 percent.
The study authors said This is within our predicted range in our report. The garment industry in Bangladesh has not as yet developed as well as we expected, however. As a result of the epidemic, the livelihood and the lives of Bangladesh workers are both at significant risk. Many of the small factories have closed up shop and there is greater competition with small orders, the report added.
As per the report, during the first year of the epidemic, Bangladesh’s ready-made garment exports decreased by 16 percent. This cost the industry a revenue loss of over 5.6 billion dollars.
Development vs Challenge
In spite of the losses, Bangladesh has made “significant progress” in the last decade in the ready-made garment sector and surmounted numerous hurdles, the report stated. Bangladesh has done very well, particularly in the diversification of buyers and products, quality improvement of suppliers, and the working environment and sustainability.
For instance, the utilization of synthetic fibers in Bangladesh is now quite high. The nation also now produces comparatively complicated goods like outerwear, sewn apparel items, and underwear and provides good-quality prints and laser finishes.
In order to produce these new classes of goods as per the regulation set forth by the European Union, fabrics may be brought into the country from abroad. Even the highest degree of the top integration in the supply chain has increased by a small degree as a result and thus the bulk of suppliers today can supply fewer than 90 days.
It has been reported by McKinsey that most Bangladeshi factories have so far failed to utilize these opportunities and do not want to invest as much as they can. T-shirts, trousers, and sweaters are revealed to still control the country’s export market in the report.
The second largest problem in this industry is gender inequality and empowerment of staff. There has been a rise in remuneration, but there remains a vast gap in the rights of workers protection. But gender inequality is now a problem when it comes to career development from an early age.
Infrastructure is one of the problems in the readymade garment sector. To achieve progress in the garment sector in the coming days, Bangladesh must digitize transport, energy, and infrastructure, McKinsey stated.
Stand up to challenge
Bangladesh’s textile industry has every chance of survival as the largest ready-made garment producer in the world and becoming even more prominent. Though at present there are numerous storms surrounding the nation’s apparel industry; Nevertheless, some ultimate choices must be made by the authorities if they wish to maintain the pole position in the industry, as per McKinsey.
McKinsey also pointed out that Bangladesh’s apparel industry must rise above to tackle the challenges of skewed trade. For that, the conventional buyer must accommodate the shrinking demand of the market and shift towards searching for more demand-driven sustainable sourcing models.
Just-Style has discovered through discussions with some foreign buyers that they believe Bangladesh’s garment sector is not yet dynamic enough. The others, however, are quite optimistic and believe that the resilience and flexibility that Bangladeshi producers have already demonstrated can be anticipated to reshape the country’s ready-made garment sector as required, though structural change is not possible here.
Certain sourcing executives also referred to the movement of the volume of sourcing towards foreign firms in Bangladesh, particularly for more composite and technical products and synthetics. These are seeking to source from partners who invest in sustainability, labor-friendly, and transparency.
The report indicates that if the Bangladesh government implements new policies to lure foreign investors into the industry, it may prove to be advantageous for the country. Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry has progressed tremendously during the last decade by overcoming numerous hindrances. The garment sector is now confronting numerous new challenges during the time of the epidemic crisis. In the coming years, the industry should reflect the general evolution in collaboration with manufacturers, overseas customers, business owners, governments, and shareholders.
McKinsey’s report summarizes As global buyers operate in an increasingly changing manner, they desire to operate with more advanced and modern suppliers. they must establish deeper and more pragmatic strategic alliances and look ahead, putting behind them the slowing pace of the global retail market during the last decade.