In a recent meeting with local buying offices of foreign brands, leaders from the BGMEA said no confirmed placed orders should be cancelled. For brands that would like to postpone orders, it directed them to partly pay for goods so that the factories would have funds to pay workers. In its own concession to aid brands and retailers, BGMEA said factories would be willing to hold the goods until companies are ready to take them.

Brands and retailers in Bangladesh have been pulling back production orders as they face shrinking demand and closed stores that can’t currently benefit from shipments of new product. In the last one week, an estimated $100 million in orders have been cancelled in Bangladesh,

These brands and retailers are asking vendors to outline what fabric is ready for production and what isn’t, and cancelling orders for the latter. In some cases, they’ve agreed to delay use of the fabric, and in others, they’re washing their hands of it entirely. They are also asking for discounts on previously placed orders.

Some buyers are asking their Bangladesh suppliers if they can pay for the products they are taking 30 days later than when the would have. In some cases, they want to make their payments to manufacturers—who already face cash flow challenges—even further out than that.

Brands and retailers are reducing their production receipts by as much as 75 percent through July, or in some cases, through August. And despite corporate social responsibility efforts and aims, most companies have been focused on saving themselves as times get tough amid the COVID-19 pandemic, over considering the well-being of the workers who have been making the clothes to drive their earlier successes.