With an aim to contribute largely to annual $50 billion export target by the year 2021, the 3rd Bangladesh Denim Expo will begin on November 11 next with the theme ‘Sustainable Denim’ in Bangladesh. Sources said the two-day event, scheduled to kick off at Bashundhara International Convention City in the capital, will be more thriving. The Denim Expo is a platform for a huge gathering of local and international stakeholders of denim sector. A good number of international brands and manufacturers along with local stakeholders will take part at the event. Organisers expect that this edition will be more beneficial for the participants. Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the country’s denim sector will have to contribute at least $5 billion per year to the garment export to reach the target by the year 2021. As a result, the Bangladesh Denim Expo is vital to bring more foreign buyers and encouraging investors, he opined. According to data, the size of global denim market in 2014 was $56.20 billion which expected to reach $64.10 billion by 2020, while Bangladesh’s denim apparel export in 2014 was around $2.5 billion. “We have a large scope to contribute to the global denim market,” said Azim adding such contribution will help expand the country’s export basket. “With the theme of ‘Sustainable Denim in Bangladesh’, we are going to arrange the third edition of the Bangladesh Denim Expo in November next”, said Mostafiz Uddin, organiser and also Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh Denim Expo. According to sources, at present, there are 25 denim fabrics manufacturing mills and 531 denim readymade garment factories in Bangladesh. Of them, Vintage Denim Studio Envoy Textile, Shasha Denims, Pacific Jeans, Mahmud Denims, Amber Denim, Argon Denims, Denim Expert, Square Denims that adopted eco-friendly business plan and energy-efficient production procedure, are going to take part at the event. “The objective of the expo is not only to promote the denim trade in Bangladesh but also encourage better business practice,” said Mostafiz Uddin. Mentionable, the event will have four seminars – ‘Branding through Green Denim (Environmental Sustainability)’, ‘Safe and Responsible Supply Chain’, ‘Innovating Sustainable Denim for New Generation Market’ and ‘Sustainable Wet Processing’. Besides, there will be a panel discussion titled ‘Building leaders for sustained growth’. A ‘Trend Zone’ will also be set up at the venue to display latest and future denim trends. The organisers, however, expect that nearly 4,000 apparel entrepreneurs, businessmen, fashion professionals and other stakeholders of 1,200 companies from 60 countries will visit the expo.
