It is indeed a matter of pride that a Bangladeshi readymade garment factory is now the global leader as a Leed-certified green factory with a score of 104 -- the highest ever score in the industry category project in the world.
Over the past decade, especially in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster, our RMG industry has seen a radical transformation -- for the better. This is especially true with regard to the safety and sustainability of our factories; with close to 200 green factories in the country now, we have certainly come a long way.
Having said that, while we look forward to further transformation of our RMG industry, with sustainability and automation at the heart of future initiatives, it is a shame that this positive change has not been reflected in the overall reputation of the industry.
We look to the international buyers who still view Bangladesh as a destination for lower quality RMG factories. While some of this is true, and we do indeed need to invest in up-skilling our labour force to increase both our quality and efficiency, nevertheless we are not being given our due for our positive change.
Buyers still hesitate to give us fair prices, while the luxury brands we lost in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster have yet to return to the country, despite all the developments we have made.
Moving forward, as our RMG industry continues to evolve, we must do better on the policy side of things. It is imperative that the authorities concerned do their best to not only support the RMG industry to reach its full potential, but also work to bring buyers attention to the fact that our RMG industry deserves to be paid fairer prices for its products.
