Will garment industry of Bangladesh survive!
The second largest exporter of readymade garments the world, Bangladesh is facing harder and harder challenges every year in textile sector due to the ongoing crisis in world economics. What will happen when it faces more challenges which is yet to come.
THE BEGINNING
Since 1980, the first establishment of garment industry in our country, Bangladesh has gained a huge accomplishment till now with over 4000 garments factory running. Since then, garment industry is contributing to the national economy and providing millions of jobs. The garment industry is providing 83% of total export earnings of the country and maintaining 6% annual average GDP growth rate. International companies like Levis, nike, H&M, Zara, Walmart are one of the top garment buyer of Bangladesh.
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ABOLISHMENT OF CHILD LABOR
In 1994, learning about the child labor for the first time, the garments industries made sure to be free from child labor in 1995 which is a great leap in the garment industry of Bangladesh.
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RANA PLAZA & ITS IMPACT IN GARMENTS INDUSTRY
In 2013, When the rana plaza collapsed resulting in death of over 1100 people, Bangladesh govt and other private sector took huge measurement to make a safe workplace for all the workers in garment industries. Many policies have been established since then for the safety and comfort of the workers in the garment industries.
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PRESENT CHALLENGES
In Recent years, the garment industry in Bangladesh is facing a huge struggle due to rising gas prices, inflation and a natural gas shortage that hampers production. The worker’s protest over low wages and poor working conditions are making this harder for the garment industry to maintain its position. It’s already affecting garment industry with the export falling for some previous months. The govt. took some measurement to raise the minimum wages of the garment’s workers which the garment’s factories will have to cut their profit to maintain the new wages set by the government. This situation will be more apprehensive in the near future if Bangladesh lose its status as a Least Developed Country (LDC) in 2026. The recent protests are just a wake-up call for the government and the garment industries about what to come in the future.
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FUTURE INDUSTRY
The garments industries should be prepared to overcome the upcoming challenges by making their workers more skillful and by maintaining proper management. IoT based solution is one of the best solutions to maintain or increase the sustainability the garments industry needs. It will help to enhance efficiency, find out bottleneck and gives visibility which results in making the workers more skillful. Industry 4.0 – also known as fourth industrial revolution is making a great different in the manufacturing industries of many countries. It’s just a matter of time to take a leap into the future or stays in the dark.