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Bangladesh will be able to take advantage of any climate policy the western nations adopt, because its readymade garment (RMG) industry has already began the transformation towards sustainability, said International Apparel Federation (IAF) President Cem Altan.
Altan made the remark in an interview to The Business Post during his visit to Dhaka for attending the 37th IAF convention and Made in Bangladesh Week 2022, adding that Bangladesh’s ongoing sustainability policy in the apparel sector will be helpful in the future.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) had organised the mega event in partnership with the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange. The event focused on the apparel sector’s development, such as workplace environment, and green initiatives.
The IAF chief said, “The global change in climate is now at an alarming level, and the apparel sector is producing a huge amount of carbon. Western communities, particularly the European Union, plan to reduce carbon emissions, and have already implemented several policies.
“We do not know which policy they will take, but Bangladesh will be able to take advantage because the country has already begun transforming towards sustainability. It has 178 LEED-certified RMG factories under the US Green Building Council (UGCB), and 500 more are awaiting certification.”
He pointed out that Bangladesh has nine factories among the USGBC’s top ten scorers.
Cem Altan then said, “Bangladesh should be branding its sustainability initiatives to the global community. It has to adopt more modern technology and manufacture recycled and sustainable goods.
“Though the country earned more than $42 billion through apparel exports, it had to import more than $22 billion in raw materials, such as yarn, fabrics, chemicals, and other accessories. This means the country’s original earnings are just $20 billion.”
He continued, “So they [BGMEA] cannot say that the earnings are $42 billion. Bangladesh indeed has a huge potential in this sector, but because of a lack of backward linkages, especially for manmade fibre, the country failed to utilise it.
“It needs big investments in the manmade fibre sector to reach its goal. Although the change will not come overnight, the country should be strong in backward linkage areas because lead time is one of the key factors in attracting buyers.”
He added, “I heard that many investors have already started to invest in the manmade fibre sector, but it needs massive investment within the next four to five years.”
Discussing the matters of ethical business and fair pricing, Cem Altan said, “It is true that Bangladesh failed to receive orders at a fair price. I think the factory owners or their marketing team are not well trained in this area.
“As they did not get good prices, they could not provide wages to workers. Although the IAF is working to ensure ethical business, Bangladesh should have taken initiatives in this area. Factories should have focused on research and development, and learned about fair prices.”
Cem Altan pointed out, “It is important that Bangladesh never accepts work orders that cannot even cover production costs, and tries to pay better wages to workers. When buyers demand more facilities for workers, apparel manufacturers must ask for price increases.”
He then said, “During Covid-19, the global economy was severely impacted, and Bangladesh also suffered from the impact. When the crisis eased steadily, brands began to place a large volume of work orders, and Bangladesh also witnessed tremendous export growth from September 2021 to August 2022.
“But when the Russia-Ukraine war started, everything changed. The global economy is now facing a high inflation crisis, which cuts consumers’ purchasing power. That is why brands began to reduce clothing sourcing.”
Cem Altan continued, “We do not know when the crisis will be over, but we expect that brands will have a good sale at the upcoming Christmas season. If they are able to clear its maximum stock, they will return with a large number of work orders.
“Although the exporters are now navigating troubled waters because of the order shortages, I believe that it will no longer be the case in the coming days.”
