Fast fashion drove Bangladesh – now its troubled economy needs more

The beating brain of the world fast fashion industry is Bangladesh.

The clothing its factories trade share the aisles at H&amp, M, Gap and Zara. Over three years, this has transformed the nation from one of the nation’s poorest to a lower-middle money region.

But its garment industry, worth$ 55bn ( £42bn ) a year, is now facing an unsettled future after weeks of protests toppled the government of Sheikh Hasina in August. In the turmoil, hundreds of people were killed.

While producers struggled to work under a global internet blackout, at least four factories were set ablaze. Now, three major brands, including Disney and US retailer string Walmart, have looked abroad for next weekend’s clothes.

The upheaval is continuing. From Thursday, some 60 companies outside Dhaka are expected to remain closed because of employee upheaval. Staff have been making numerous needs, including better pay.

New events” will affect the trust level of brands”, says Mohiuddin Rubel, a chairman at the region’s garments manufacturers and exporters relationship.

” And they might believe,” If we put all of our eggs in one box?” they ask. he says, noting foe garment-producing places like Vietnam.

In fact, Kyaw Sein Thai, who has procurement agencies in both Bangladesh and the US, speculates that the current social unrest could lead to a” 10 to 20 % decline in export this time.” That’s no small amount when fast fashion exports account for 80 % of Bangladesh’s export earnings.

Even before the events of the past several months, Bangladesh’s cloth business – and its economy – were not in good health. Baby workers crises, fatal injuries and the Covid-19 stoppage had all taken their toll.

Manufacturing had become more expensive as a result of rising prices, but sluggish need meant lower prices meant lower prices. This was particularly terrible for Bangladesh, which relies heavily on imports. As revenue from imports shrank, so did foreign money resources.

Other issues were present, as well: the government’s finances had been drained from increased expenditure on lavish infrastructure projects. Additionally, as strong businesspeople with connections to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party failed to pay money, the bank was weakened by rampant favoritism.

” It was n’t benign neglect but a designed robbery of the financial system”, the country’s new central bank governor, Dr Ahsan Mansur, told the BBC in an recent exclusive interview.

Fixing this, Dr Mansur said, was his top concern, but he warned it may take years and the state would need more financial support, including another IMF loan.

” We are in a challenging situation, and we want to keep paying every penny we can to fulfill our international commitments. But we need some extra seat for today”, said Dr Mansur.

Mahaburbur Rahman, whose family founded the apparel company Sonia Group 20 years ago, claims that the nation’s declining deposits of foreign currencies alone are sufficient to stifle trust.

If we do n’t have enough money, they worry about how much we’ll be able to import yarn from China and India. Many of them are unable to make new orders in Bangladesh because they are n’t covered by travel insurance, according to Mr. Rahman.

However, Bangladesh’s current issue is more grave: kids who were outraged by the country’s absence of well-paying jobs and opportunities were the ones who organized the protests that led to Ms. Hasina’s ouster.

The clothing factories may have provided millions of jobs, but they do n’t offer good wages. Some factory workers who spoke to the BBC claimed they struggled to make ends meet on wages that were only a fraction of the national minimum wage, which meant they were forced to take out money to give their children.

Many of them joined the student-led rallies in recent months to need better pay and conditions.

” We may live for nothing less than a doubling”, union president Maria said. ” Pay must change as the cost of living increases.”

The student activists, though, are calling for a more dramatic shake-up of the employment market.

Abu Tahir, Mohammad Zaman, Mohammad Zaidul and Sardar Armaan were all part of the marches.

They all claim to be interested in working in the private sector but do n’t feel like they are qualified for the positions that are available, telling the BBC that they have been unemployed for between two and five years.

” ]My parents ] hardly understand how competitive the job market is. Unemployment is a main source of stress for my home. I feel belittled”, Mr Zaman says.

” We only get a degree, we are never getting the right knowledge”, says Mr Zaidul.

” The new assistant is an entrepreneur himself nevertheless, so we all feel more cheerful he’ll do something about this”, he adds, referring to the region’s time president, Muhammad Yunus. For his ground-breaking work in sub debts, Mr. Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to Dr. Fahmida Khatun of the Centre for Policy Dialogue think tank, diversifying the economy is essential to fulfill the desires of educated children, adding that this would not be detrimental to the market.

” No state you live for a long time based on only one business”, she says. ” It will take you so much, but no further. There have been]diversification ] attempts, but so far it’s only been in the books”.

This is demonstrated by a deteriorating systems garden close to the capital, Dhaka. It was intended to be a part of a national campaign to reduce Bangladesh’s reliance on garment production and to make higher-paying jobs.

It today sits abandoned – a reminder of the preceding administration’s financial problems.

” This is the perfect example of the difference between what business requirements and what the government has provided”, says Russel T Ahmed, a applications investor.

No one ever inquired as to why we needed these gardens. Bangladesh has been investing in real system, but how much have we invested in human system? That is the essential raw materials for this market.

According to Dr. Khatun, the new government must cut down on obstacles like fraud and bureaucracy in order to promote private and international investment.

Mr Yunus has vowed to take extensive changes to the country’s economy and fix organizations that have, as Dr Khatun says, been” carefully ruined” over the past few years.

He must continue to stabilize the economy, hold free and fair elections, and stop vested interests from dictating state policy.

The state is also dealing with a number of issues, including slowing global demand for the goods it produces, deteriorating relations with its gigantic neighbor and exchanging partner India, which houses Ms. Hasina, and climate change, which has increased the intensity of cyclones in the flood-prone nation.

These difficulties are as great as the hope that many people have poured onto Mr. Yunus ‘ arms.