In the first eleven months of 2017, Bangladesh’s garment exports were up 1.38 per cent year-on-year.  One reason is the favorable exchange rate. Exporters want further devaluation of the local currency against the dollar to compensate for the rising cost of production such that exporters can continue to be competitive on the global stage. They expect at least a ten per cent devaluation of the currency as they have faced a low exchange rate over the last five years. They say the exchange rate is still not up to the mark when compared with competing countries like India and Turkey.

Apart from the favorable exchange rate, the rising shipment of value added items, a brighter image of Bangladesh’s garment sector after remediation work, the relative political calm and automation of production also helped prop up garment exports in 2017. The absence of any major untoward incident like labor or political unrest was a boon for apparel exporters.

Garment exporters are cautiously optimistic about the new year as the country’s apparel sector is on a strong footing. Export receipts are expected to be about ten per cent higher next year. A good number of new factories will come into operation next year.

"Dawn of fast fashion and the convenience of buying trendy clothes at an affordable cost be it offline or online have truly been the trends for some time now. While on one hand, conventional mall retailers have been getting tough competition from the global giants such as Zara, H&M, Mango, on the other hand, the high-end fashion brands are also not exempt from sharing high-meets-low wardrobe-wielding consumers with these mass market giants. Let’s check out some of the trends worth mentioning…"

Dawn of fast fashion and the convenience of buying trendy clothes at an affordable cost be it offline or online have truly been the trends for some time now. While on one hand, conventional mall retailers have been getting tough competition from the global giants such as Zara, H&M, Mango, on the other hand, the high-end fashion brands are also not exempt from sharing high-meets-low wardrobe-wielding consumers with these mass market giants. Let’s check out some of the trends worth mentioning…

Down side of fast fashion In garment factories, women have to choose an option between safety and employment as it lacks well- established legal protections and standards that weigh in favour of fairness and transparency. The existence of such informal labour sectors, coupled with the gender-specific susceptibilities that garment factory owners and operators prey upon, make it quite a challenging affair for women employees. For instance, female workers in Cambodia have suffered mass fainting due to excessive hours worked in stifling conditions in factories that supply garments and accessories to sportswear brands including Nike, Puma, VF Corporation, and Asics.

In another turn of events, H&M has been accused of destroying 60 tons of recyclable garments. Kara/Noveren, a waste disposal company in Denmark, has incinerated over 60 tons of new, unworn apparel from H&M since 2013. These hundreds of thousands of garments consist of reusable/recyclable materials. Challenging the working conditions of fast fashion companies, analysts feel by failing to respond swiftly to factory workers who haven’t been compensated, Zara is doing serious damage to its brand. Fast fashion retailers these days are imitating the global runway showcases and mass producing them quickly to gain consumers. Additionally, most fashion brands – in attempts to offer affordable prices – look abroad for cotton, and the conditions in many of the far-flung locations where cotton is harvested are anything but pretty. Even after widespread campaigns done by NGOs to educate consumers about the harms associated with the practice of fast fashion, both in terms of sustainability and human rights, the intense demand for trendy, cheap clothing is not fading.

In Bangladesh the Awami League (one of the two major political parties of Bangladesh), along with garment industry employers, intensified their crackdown on apparel workers following mass walkouts over wages and working conditions in December.

Fast fashion is here to stay

A product of its times, fast fashion taps into its millennial core audience’s two favourite things: frequent novelty and affordability, which will outweigh traditional model of mass market retailing for some more years. After having gained traction and sustained long-term consumers, it’s going to be challenging for such brands to offer them the value in the price they desire. It remains to be seen if it’s going to be consumers at the helm or fast fashion brands would yet again make way for their increased price-points fashion trends.

A year which started with a crackdown on labour rights in Bangladesh also saw action taken around the world to fight for workers’ rights in a sustainable garment industry.

2017 in Bangladesh export industry resulted in 35 union leaders jailed, union offices shut down, and over 1,000 workers illegally terminated for raising their collective voices for higher wages and better working conditions. On the other side of the world in Nicaragua, workers were terminated and jailed for striking.

However garment unions from across the globe took action. From New York to Tokyo to Amsterdam, solidarity support for these struggles came in the form of letters to governments and global brands, protests and petitions.

IndustriALL North American affiliate workers united, originally founded by immigrant garment workers who came to the United States and Canada seeking a better life for themselves and their families only to face exploitation and poverty at their jobs, holds an annual summer education seminar for all newly elected worker representatives.

IndustriALL held a session on the global textile, garment, leather and shoe sector on the importance of global solidarity and how Workers’ United’s history is intertwined with the textile and garment global supply chain. Workers United members formed unions that improved their lives and helped bring social reform to their countries, improving life for millions.

According to a report on the prevalence of gender-based violence in the garment supply chain three quarters of women garment workers in Bangladesh stated to have experienced verbal abuse while 20 percent physical abuse.

The report further states that the sexual harassment and abuse, both physical and emotional, that women workers experience every day is endemic. This was revealed during a keynote speech by Runa Laila, at a roundtable on “Social dialogue, gender-based violence and living wage in RMG (present situation and practical solution)”.

Supervisors and line chiefs used bad language if production target remained unmet and masks and ID cards were used only when foreign buyers came to visit.

Towhidur Rahman, secretary general of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, gave another speech on the necessity of living wages and prospects and Koen Oosterom, country manager, Fair Wear Foundation, the welcome speech.

There were presentations by representatives of partners Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association, Karmojibi Nari and Awaj Foundation with Shirin Akhter MP as the chief guest at the open discussion.