Bangladesh seeks global brands’ commitment for ‘compliant-competitive-caring’ apparel industry

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Tuesday urged global brands to deliver on their commitments within the evolving global RMG supply-chain, saying their due response is “crucial” for making the entire industry and the supply chains “compliant-competitive-caring.”

“The global brands also require delivering on their commitments at a similar pace,” he said, adding that manufacturing is a collective enterprise and is about shared responsibility, reports UNB.

The state minister was addressing the inaugural session of the Sustainable Apparel Forum 2019 at the International Convention Centre Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka.

The mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation and former BGMEA President Md. Atiqul Islam, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Prefonatine, Head of Sustainability - Global Production, H&M Group Pierre Borjesson and Director, BGMEA and Managing Director, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE)Md. Mohiuddin Rubel also spoke at the event.

Shahriar said that the full appreciation and realization of respective roles and responsibilities can truly sustain the global supply-chain in an industry such as the RMG. “This is all the more so in the context of ‘Responsible Business conduct’ that the global stakeholders have pledged to.”

He appreciated all friends across the world – in governments, businesses, media, civil society, and academia- for putting their unfettered confidence and trust in Bangladesh.

“The Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, envisioned a poverty-free Bangladesh. Four decades since then, his daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is steadfast in realizing his dream. This is manifested[4] in the current government’s avowed vision of graduating Bangladesh as a middle income country by 2021, and as a developed country by 2041,” he said.

The state minister also said the contemporary Bangladesh RMG and textile sector is going through a transformation, like other sectors of the economy and society.

He said that the emergence of the fourth industrial technological revolution has changed many conventional business models in this sector.

“The industry and the government have been trying to bring in changes, whatever necessary. We have embarked upon addressing the gaps, limitations, and constraints,” Shahriar said.