
Mostafiz Uddin
RMG NOTES
Mostafiz Uddin is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE). Email: [email protected]
RMG NOTES
Mostafiz Uddin is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE). Email: [email protected]
We are not geared for such runs in the same way that some manufacturers in Europe are.
Will we see an industry which has fewer and larger players?
Better wages cannot be introduced by any one actor alone.
What happens when you have done all that you can, but your emissions continue to go in the wrong direction?
Without fashion retailers and their suppliers working together, our industry as a whole will continue to see emissions rising.
It is time to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether.
How can we reduce CO2 emissions associated with our industry?
As we head into 2023, there is a sense of trepidation in the business landscape. As 2022 drew to a close, it felt at times like many companies were limping towards the end of the year.
Targets for carbon emissions are closing in fast on some of Bangladesh's largest trading partners. Some have set targets for 2030. Things are moving more quickly than anybody could have imagined on this issue.
I am not ruling out the possibility of Bangladesh being granted a place in the GSP+. I would rather argue that we need to also prepare for a time when we can stand on our own two feet as far as international trade is concerned. To do this, I believe we now need to make faster moves on bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and also preferential trading agreements (PTAs) with some of our existing trading partners, where we can negotiate mutually gainful benefits and opportunities. It is a new game that our government and businesses must start preparing for.
In theory, this sounds like a good idea, but it is not so straightforward.
There is anecdotal evidence that investment is taking place to upgrade operations to meet the demands of international customers.
The discussion on holding the largest emitter to account was notably lacking at the conference.
As garment makers, we cannot afford to absorb all cost increases along the supply chain.
My biggest worry in this situation is for our RMG workers, who are among the most vulnerable parts in the global fashion supply chain.
Global energy challenges are continuing to impact Bangladesh's garment industry.
By limiting ourselves to these two markets, we are missing out on a whole world of opportunities.
Climate change is a problem which was (largely) made in the West, but we are feeling its impacts in countries like ours more than ever.
In recent months, the Bangladeshi taka has plummeted to new depths against the US dollar amid a worsening foreign exchange reserve crisis.
Recessions don’t happen overnight, and people don’t stop spending from one day to the next.
As the global economy is threatened by recession, RMG makers will have to come up with strategies to deal.
In recent months, global energy prices have soared, and ready-made garment (RMG) makers in Bangladesh have been feeling its impacts these past few weeks.
It seems that just as we recover from one crisis – the global pandemic – another one begins.
RMG makers in Bangladesh have a compelling story to tell. And there is no better time to start doing it than now.
In the fashion industry, public relations is a business-critical discipline.
Enhancing production capacity now, without any feasibility studies or without regard to what future headwind we may be facing, would be risky and reckless.
Despite Bangladesh having a large number of green factories, the SMEs in our garment industry are still struggling to access green finance.
Garment makers, governments, NGOs and fashion retailers all agree on one thing: carbon emissions in the clothing production must be reduced. Our industry is one of the world’s most emissions-intensive, and it is simply not sustainable in its current format.
Two years ago, garment order books were empty as Covid broke out and shut down the main global markets for Bangladesh.
Everywhere I go I hear the same maxim: sustainability is the only word forward for the fashion industry.
We’ve spent so many years going round in circles on various issues impacting garment supply chains.
While Covid-19 has sent shock waves through the ready-made garment (RMG) supply chains that continue to reverberate, there is also a broader issue that needs more attention: sustainability.
“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” This quote is from Sir Richard Branson,
Sustainability should not be a hard sell. And yet, in our industry, so many garment makers continue to look at it as a financial burden—a potential drain for their businesses.
A host of challenges await garment makers as 2022 progresses.
New developments in technology, robotics, automation and digitisation are something all garment manufacturers need to be mindful of. Knowledge, as they say, is power.
We recently saw the announcement of new supply chain “due diligence” laws by the European Union (EU), which are aimed at making multinational businesses accountable for social and environmental transgressions in supply chains.
Our RMG industry has been characterised by the phrase “feast or famine” these last two years. After Covid-19 broke out in early 2020, clothing orders were extremely hard to come by for a period of time.
“UK retailers ditch unethical suppliers,” cried a recent headline in several international news outlets. Did I read that correctly?
Recently, I read that Pakistan, a major competitor of Bangladesh in garment and textile production, had hit record textile exports. The country posted an uptick in textile exports year-on-year of 40 percent in FY2021-22 to the level of USD 21 billion.
The future looks bright for Bangladesh’s RMG sector after a period of profound uncertainty due to the global pandemic. The latest apparel export figures show that, despite the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns in key markets, Bangladesh set a new record for apparel exports in the 2021 calendar year.
In Bangladesh’s RMG industry, we view ourselves as fighting for a position as the world’s second-most important garment sourcing hub.
Environmental issues related to the ready-made garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh appear to have taken a back seat in recent years.
When it comes to the geography of apparel production, the rules are changing, and this is something all Bangladeshi RMG manufacturers need to be aware of.
In the spring of 2020, when the whole planet appeared to be going into lockdown and major fashion retailers were collectively cancelling billions of dollars’ worth of garment orders, it was difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the lessons that we learnt during Covid-19 is that suppliers and buyers need to collaborate more, moving away from adversarial relations. But how can we make the shift towards collaboration? And what are the barriers to such an approach to business?
There is a profound sense of déjà vu as we approach the end of 2021 and look forward to what the new year will bring.
The year 2020 was the toughest that I can remember as a business owner. Like many RMG manufacturers in Bangladesh, there were periods where I did not know how I was going to survive.
We are not geared for such runs in the same way that some manufacturers in Europe are.
Will we see an industry which has fewer and larger players?
Better wages cannot be introduced by any one actor alone.
What happens when you have done all that you can, but your emissions continue to go in the wrong direction?
Without fashion retailers and their suppliers working together, our industry as a whole will continue to see emissions rising.
It is time to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether.
How can we reduce CO2 emissions associated with our industry?
As we head into 2023, there is a sense of trepidation in the business landscape. As 2022 drew to a close, it felt at times like many companies were limping towards the end of the year.
Targets for carbon emissions are closing in fast on some of Bangladesh's largest trading partners. Some have set targets for 2030. Things are moving more quickly than anybody could have imagined on this issue.
I am not ruling out the possibility of Bangladesh being granted a place in the GSP+. I would rather argue that we need to also prepare for a time when we can stand on our own two feet as far as international trade is concerned. To do this, I believe we now need to make faster moves on bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and also preferential trading agreements (PTAs) with some of our existing trading partners, where we can negotiate mutually gainful benefits and opportunities. It is a new game that our government and businesses must start preparing for.