Bangladesh has become a major source for garment accessories, as direct export of such items increased by 66.67 per cent year-on-year to $1 billion in the last fiscal. Earlier, the country was a net importer of garment accessories largely from Hong Kong and China, Bangladesh now produces numerous such items, with spiralling demand coming from international buyers of many garment-making countries. Manufacturers from Bangladesh have been exporting key parts of apparel items to Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Malaysia.

Accessories such as buttons, zippers, labels, price tags and washing instructions are used in making finished garment products. For example, of a T-shirt is sold at $5, the share of accessories is 15 per cent. Currently, around 1,600 factories are producing accessories and some are directly exporting to other countries.

The Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA) reports earnings from apparel accessories skyrocketed to $600 million in 2015-16 as against $300 million in the previous year. As Shahadat Hossain Kiron, Chairman of Dekko Group, a leading garment exporter says, “The prospect of direct accessories export is very bright. I started exporting the items as some buyers have made it mandatory for garment makers in countries outside of Bangladesh to use accessories produced in my factory.” While Kiron had previously been producing accessories only for use in his own garment factory, today he supplies garment items to C&A, M&S, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger and Next.

Md Abdul Kader Khan, President of BGAPMEA, the accessory makers' platform reveals the total investment in the accessory making sector is over Tk 30,000 crore. The number of workers in this sub-sector is 4.5 lakh and it plays a key role in the garment sector.