Bangladesh has made “significant progress” in making sure that the garment industry achieves compliance maintaining international standards, economic aide to the Prime Minister has said. “The remaining issues will be addressed in a timely manner in cooperation with the international partners,” Mashiur Rahman told a conference at Harvard University. He was presenting the keynote speech at the 3rd annual international conference on “Sustainable models for the Bangladesh apparel industry” held on Saturday, the organisers said in a statement. He emphasised that the Bangladesh government takes the issues of worker rights and safety “very seriously” and will do everything necessary to ensure that the industry can achieve its potentials. The day-long event was jointly organised by Boston-based research organisation International Sustainable Development Institute (ISDI) the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School. The conference provided a forum for discussion on the state of the Bangladesh garment sector. At this year’s conference, the speakers and participants focused on exploring ways to build a sustainable model for the apparel industry that is competitive while benefiting workers and stakeholders. Exploring new market trends and consumer preferences, the conference participants discussed strategic approaches for major transformations of the industry in Bangladesh. The conference participants included government representatives from Bangladesh, the USA, Canada, the Netherlands and the European Union as well as Bangladeshi garment manufacturers and exporters, international clothing brands and retailers, international development organisations, United Nations agencies, workers’ rights groups and international labor organisations. Researchers from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Penn State University, Clark University, Tufts University, Bentley University, and University of Massachusetts presented their original research on the trends in global and Bangladeshi apparel industry. In order for Bangladesh to compete in the global market, the speakers stressed that it is necessary to be “cost-efficient” while achieving compliance with heightened standards for worker health and safety. The discussions were organised around four sessions – 1) Supply chain compliance and the need for fair price strategy and shared responsibility, 2) Trade policy, workers’ rights and working condition – opportunities and challenges, 3) Environmental sustainability development strategy: A necessity, not an option, and 4) Bangladesh apparel industry-road map to achieve $50 billion by 2021. Amy McGann of the U.S. State Department acknowledged that significant progress has been made in ensuring the safety and worker rights issues, but the United States will reevaluate its GSP designation for Bangladesh once Bangladesh meets all the requirements. Yevgeniya Savchenko of the World Bank expressed confidence that once Bangladesh makes progress on garment safety and develops a sustainable model for growth, it can easily take market share away from China. Shawkat Aziz Russell, BTMA Vice President, and Chairman of Amber Denim, offered a field level view of the Bangladesh garment industry to the audience. He shared that a significant majority of old factories have upgraded their facilities to meet the compliance requirements. Even though challenges remain in terms of accessing resources, the rest are in the process of doing so. He mentioned that what is even more heartening is that when new factories are built, they are enviable. They meet international standards of safety, they are green, and they provide safe and comfortable working conditions to the workers. The speakers and participants engaged in lively discussion on the current state of the Bangladesh garment industry and provided recommendations on how to help take collaboration among the stakeholders to the next level. They expressed confidence that the future for Bangladesh is a bright one. Once progress is made on resolving the challenges of the industry, it will help Bangladesh realise its potential for economic development. The event was organised in association of the BGMEA and the United Commercial Bank Limited. The coordinator of the event was Iqbal Yousuf, the executive director of ISDI and an IT professional at Harvard Medical School.
