Garment Industries of Bangladesh

By Fathia Harun and Elizabeth Hollmann

Since its formation, Bangladesh has worked to alleviate the numbers of poverty by advancing more of the country’s men and women to work. Economically, the gross domestic product improved from 68 billion USD in 2005 to 352 billion USD in 2021. This swift increase in GDP is owed to the growing manufactured goods sector, particularly Bangladesh’s ready made garments (RMG) industry, which is the second largest of its kind in the world. Direct foreign investments acknowledge Bangladesh’s labor-intensive strategies and low wages as an attractive quarry; major economic powers such as South Korea, China, The United Kingdom, and India have been this industry’s main investors. For the last seven years, the garment industries brought in an annual revenue of 34 billion USD for Bangladesh. Bengali people can now recieve income for their well-being — but garment industry work often looks like exploitation rather than emancipation. The majority of garment workers are increasingly at risk of unemployment and often suffer from low wages. Inadequate pay overwhelmingly leads to food insecurities and unmet basic necessities for workers and their families. In January of 2019, garment workers in Bangladesh protested the government to raise their monthly minimum wage to 18,000 tk ($216 USD). The government refused, continuing to grant only 8,000 tk ($96 USD). These wages are simply not enough for workers to provide for themselves and their families. Workers live on only 3.2 dollars a day — many are on the brink of homelessness and malnutrition. Most workers (85.2%) don’t even receive the full minimum wage due to economic inequality. Only 14.8% of workers are provided with the full minimum wage through promotions. Moreover, the pandemic has taken a toll for the worst: British companies alone have cancelled 2.5 billion USD worth of clothes orders. As a ramification, more workers are pushed out and have to feign for goods and basic needs. 71,000 workers were laid off in the span of January 2021 to March 2021. The worst case scenario is a reality for many, who live paycheck to paycheck without proper savings. Hunger in Bangladesh is at its highest — more than forty million people suffer from starvation and malnourishment. Laid-off workers are in debt, and don’t have enough to cover three meals a day or their basic needs.

The cornerstone of the garment industry is exploitation. Garment workers are forced to work twelve-hour days to meet factory production goals, and are often denied overtime pay. Poorly (and cheaply) built factory buildings cause deadly accidents. Workers are forcibly discouraged from forming unions, to the point that organizers are physically beaten. This reality of exploitation hits females the hardest, as the majority (80%) of garment workers are girls and young women. Many aren’t given maternity leave, are forced to work very late into their pregnancy, and/or are paid less when they return to work after giving birth. Women garment workers are also typically expected to take care of domestic work on top of their already long hours.

Bangladeshi garment workers of any gender or age are overworked, exploited, paid low wages, and live in fear of unemployment. What can we do to help? Read this NewYork Times article to see how fast fashion contributes to this exploitation and what solutions exist. Sources to the information in our article can be found below. Even if you don’t have time or money to spare, a simple reshare can make a difference in raising awareness and working towards progress.

Please also consider donating to our organization, Bangladesh Hunger Front, as we launch a new project in the coming weeks that aims to help impoverished Bangladeshis experiencing food insecurity.

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Work citation

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Sahelirc. (2020, October 19). ‘Vulnerable’ garment workers in BANGLADESH bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/19/coronavirus-worsened-the-reality-for-bangladesh-garment-workers.html

Al Jazeera. (2020, October 02). Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers struggle amid job loss. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/10/2/thousands-of-jobless-bangladesh-garment-workers-fear-for-future

P.k.balachandran. “Exploitation of Women Workers In Bangladesh’s Garment Industry.” The Citizen, GSA Azadi Media Pvt Ltd, 7 May 2021, www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/7/16115/Exploitation-of-Women-Workers-In-Bangladeshs-Garment-Industry.

Hills, Joel. “Retailers Withhold £2.5bn from Bangladeshi Factories as Coronavirus Dents Sales.” ITV News, ITV News, 27 Apr. 2020, www.itv.com/news/2020-04-27/retailers-withhold-2-4bn-from-bangladeshi-factories-as-coronavirus-dents-sales.

Berg, Achim, et al. “What’s next for Bangladesh’s Garment Industry, after a Decade of Growth?” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 29 Mar. 2021, www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/whats-next-for-bangladeshs-garment-industry-after-a-decade-of-growth#:~:text=Indeed%20RMG%20exports%20from%20Bangladesh,data%20by%20Export%20Promotion%20Bureau.

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“Bangladesh: Widespread Garment Worker Protests over Minimum Wage Increase; Leads to Mass Dismissals.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 27 Sept. 2018, www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-widespread-garment-worker-protests-over-minimum-wage-increase-leads-to-mass-dismissals/.

Choudhury, Saheli Roy. “‘Vulnerable’ Garment Workers in Bangladesh Bear the Brunt of the Coronavirus Pandemic.” CNBC, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/10/19/coronavirus-worsened-the-reality-for-bangladesh-garment-workers.html.

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