The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in a statement said that a recent news report, on 12 countries withdrawing apparel that is made in Bangladesh, has misrepresented information.
The statement signed by BGMEA president Faruque Hassan said that the news mentioned technical glitches such as choking and ingestion hazard found it specific product item for babies sourced and retailed by specific brand in specific country.
“Any attempt to generalize this incident on the industry and the country at large is unacceptable,” he added.
Moreover, there is no reference to such a claim that 12 countries are withdrawing or recalling apparel made in Bangladesh and they could not trace any evidence in support of this claim.
He also clarified that the reference to OECD which was mentioned in the news report maintained a “global portal on product recalled”, while recall notices from the OECD members were also listed in the report.
“Product recall for any valid reason is a standard practice and there are hundreds of such recalls listed in the OECD website as of today,” the statement added.
Moreover, the OECD website mentioned that “Health Canada recalled more than 200,000 George Brand Sleepers on Wednesday for posing a risk of choking and ingestion."
The recall of the product, sold at Walmart, is for sizes 0-5T and affects two styles for boys and two for girls.
Zipper pulls and foot grips of the sleepers may eventually separate after frequent washing, leading to choking and ingestion hazards, the agency said, adding it has not received any reports of injury in Canada.
Moreover, the products were recalled due to certain risk of hazard, which is not the mistake of Bangladeshi manufacturers as every product made in Bangladesh must pass through a stringent quality control process and laboratory tests including those of consumer health and safety.
“All exportable products must meet the standards of the buyers and relevant legal requirements of the export markets. Any product failing to comply with these health and safety requirements are usually rejected by buyers or denied entrance at the destination port,” he added.
So, any misinterpretation like ‘apparel made in Bangladesh is banned in the mentioned countries’ is false.
The statement also said that the alleged products were shipped from Bangladesh in early 2022 and were retailed in Canada from November 2022 to June 2023.
The product recall notice of Health Canada also mentioned that as of September 21, 2023, the company has not received any reports of incidents or injuries in Canada.
