Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine June Issue 2018 | Page 42

BANGLADESH CANVAS
Is Bangladesh losing out its cheap apparel sourcing
destination tag…?
• International rights group drums for Taka 16,000 minimum wage
B
angladesh remains a lucrative
HOTSPOT for international apparel
retailers and brands to source cheap
apparel items, despite struggling exports,
a new Global Sourcing Survey – 2018,
by Asiainspection (AI), says.
“Outside of China, India and Bangladesh
are increasingly given preferences
for textile sourcing, being lower-cost
destinations,” says the survey conducted
by the institution in December 2017.
Asiainspection is a quality control and
compliance provider among global
companies which claims it interviewed
top officials of over 250 companies
worldwide to produce the latest report.
The report says 88 per cent of the
respondents preferred China as the
major choice for sourcing apparel items
while 16 per cent said they would prefer
Bangladesh. Vietnam, on the other hand,
stands as the next popular sourcing
spot after China, securing 43 per cent of
preference opinions, followed by India at
37 per cent.
Among other popular geographical
sourcing destinations mentioned in the
report were Europe, North America,
Turkey, Indonesia, Latin America, Middle
East and Australia.
The report says that cost of
manufacturing and raw materials were a
priority issue for sourcing apparel items
in 2017 and predicted that the trend will
continue in 2018 as well. industry, it said it wrote to more than
20 of the largest brands sourcing
from Bangladesh, requesting them to
support the garment workers’ demands
regarding minimum wage.
Notably, Bangladesh is the third-largest
apparel manufacturing destination, next
to China and Vietnam, with over 6 per
cent of global market share. The apparel
makers think they have the chance to
increase the share and turn the nearly
US $ 30 billion industry to US $ 50 billion
by 2021. The minimum wage has not been
revised since 2013 and is one of the
lowest in the global garment industry,
said Clean Clothes Campaign, adding
that it has also urged the brands to
call on the Government of Bangladesh,
to immediately end the harassment
of workers and labour activists over
this demand.
Importantly, Bangladesh’s minimum
wage is the lowest in the world, standing
at approximately US $ 65 now. However,
it is expected to rise within a few
months as a new salary structure is
being formulated. Nevertheless, it is still
less than China (US $ 185 approx.) and
Vietnam (US $ 170 approx.).
Meanwhile, international rights group
Clean Clothes Campaign has written to
apparel retailers and brands, calling out
to support the minimum wage demand of
BDT 16,000 for Bangladesh’s 3.6 million
workers in the readymade garment
business.
According to a press release of the
global rights body for the apparel
The retailers which received the request
are: H&M, GAP, Walmart, Tesco, Inditex,
C&A, VF Corporation, Levi’s, Marks &
Spencer, Primark, Next, Takko, Aldi,
Lidl, American Eagle, Hugo Boss,
Esprit, El Corte Ingles, Sainsburys,
HBC, A&F, Kik, Carrefour, Li & Fung
and Benetton.
Also, Clean Clothes Campaign has
urged the retailers and brands to make
a long-term commitment to continue
sourcing from Bangladesh after the
wage increase, agree to increase
the FOB price to allow for the wage
increase to be met in practice, express
concerns at the ongoing repression and
harassment of trade unions leaders,
and state clearly that these brands
support the genuine engagement in
the negotiation.
The rights group also repeatedly stated
that labour unions faced repeated
threats to freedom and extreme
pressure, including arrests, since
December 2016, following the voicing of
demands for BDT 16,000 minimum wage
for Bangladesh’s apparel industry.
It is necessary to note that Bangladesh’s
apparel makers have termed the
demand of BDT 16,000 unrealistic,
saying the commission will set the
new standard of minimum wage in a
few months and will formulate a pay
structure according to the capacity
of the manufacturers and need of
the workers.
42 Apparel Online Bangladesh | JUNE 2018 | www.apparelresources.com