Industry Analysis on Textile Industry:
AFTER the Rana Plaza clothing factory near Dhaka collapsed in
April, killing at least 1,100 people, the big Western clothing companies that
have their garments run up in Bangladesh came under pressure to intervene more
forcefully to improve safety and working conditions in the workshops they buy
from. Two groups of retailers and fashion brands, one mainly North American and
one mainly European, have begun implementing new monitoring schemes. On October
24th Primark, a big British retailer, said it would extend for another three
months the aid it is giving to families affected by the disaster, while it
works on a long-term compensation scheme.
Meanwhile, the tragedies continue: earlier this month ten people
died when another factory in the Bangladeshi capital, used by big foreign
clothes retailers, went up in flames. Nevertheless, it has become clearer since
Rana Plaza that the clothing firms have little option but to continue sending
work to Bangladesh. It will remain Asia’s primary production base outside China for cheap clobber, with
exports on track to rise by a fifth, to $24 billion, in the current fiscal
year.
The country’s clothing industry has the
advantage of scale: it has 5,000 factories, compared with 2,500 in Indonesia
and 2,000 in Vietnam. Its labor costs less than any of its Asian rivals’: even a near tripling in the minimum wage, to $100 a
month, as garment workers are demanding from the government, would not change
this. And unlike clothes put together in China, India and Sri Lanka, those
stitched in Bangladesh enjoy duty-free access to the European Union.
Such is the growth in demand for cheap wear that Bangladesh’s clothing industry is forecast to quadruple in size
over the next 20 years. It already employs 4m, mostly women, in a country with
31m households. Unless productivity raises sharply, millions more women will be
drawn from their homes into the workplace, a drastic change in a conservative
society.
Although output is booming, profitability has slumped. In the past
five years the price of the average garment has fallen by 12% in local-currency
terms. In that period the factory owners’ return on investment has plunged from an average of 50% to 20%,
estimates Forrest Cookson, an American economist and expert on the Bangladeshi
economy. That still sounds good but capital is costly. To get money from
domestic banks, palms have to be greased, so textile firms in effect borrow at
around 18%.
So, despite the prospect of years of further growth to come, some
local factory owners are talking of selling up. A recent surge in Bangladeshis
buying homes abroad is perhaps a sign that some of the families that control
the clothing business are preparing an exit. Others are getting money out by
under invoicing foreign sales and keeping the difference abroad.
If the government forces the factory owners to increase pay (an
election is coming, so it may well do so), they will be even less willing and
able to invest in making their premises less hazardous. The most promising way
to make the country’s clothing industry both safer
and more profitable is to boost productivity and output at the larger and
generally better-run factories, and drive the smaller, dodgier ones out of
business.
This, broadly, is the objective of Tau Investment Management, a
New York–based firm which seeks “capitalist solutions to capitalism’s failures”. It wants to inject up to $50m in each of a number of big
factories, to sort out their safety, environmental, labor and efficiency
problems. It hopes foreign clothes firms will flock to these high-quality
suppliers, leaving the rest to wither away. A commendable idea, but a risky and
expensive one.
The textile and clothing
(T&C) industries provide the single source of economic growth in
Bangladesh's rapidly developing economy. Exports of textiles and garments are
the principal source of foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture for domestic
consumption is Bangladesh’s largest employment sector. By
2002 exports of textiles, clothing, and ready-made garments (RMG) accounted for
77% of Bangladesh’s total merchandise exports. By
2013, about 4 million people, mostly women, worked in Bangladesh's $19
billion-a-year industry, export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) industry.
Bangladesh is second only to China, the world's second-largest apparel exporter
of western brands. Sixty percent of the export contracts of western brands are
with European buyers and about forty percent with American buyers. Only 5% of
textile factories are owned by foreign investors, with most of the production
being controlled by local investors.
Bangladesh's textile industry
has been part of the trade versus aid debate. The encouragement of the garment
industry of Bangladesh as an open trade regime is argued to be a much more
effective form of assistance than foreign aid. Tools such as quotas through the
WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and Everything but Arms (EBA) and
the US 2009 Tariff Relief Assistance in the global clothing market have
benefited entrepreneurs in Bangladesh's ready-made garments (RMG) industry. Bangladesh,
with a population of about 156 million, is among the most densely populated
countries in the world. In 2012 the textile industry accounted for 45% of all
industrial employment in the country yet only contributed 5% of the
Bangladesh's total national income.
From 1947 to 1971 the textile
industry, like most industries in East Pakistan, were largely owned by West
Pakistanis. During that period, in the 1960s, local Bengali entrepreneurs had
set up their own large textile and jute factories. Following its separation
from East Pakistan the newly formed Bangladesh lost access to both capital and
technical expertise.
Until the liberation of
Bangladesh in 1971, the textile sector was primarily part of the process of
import substitution industrialization (ISI) to replace imports. After the
liberation, Bangladesh adopted export-oriented industrialization (EOI) by
focusing on the textile and clothing industry, particularly the readymade
garment (RMG) sector. Immediately after the founding of Bangladesh (1971), tea
and jute were the most export-oriented sectors. But with the constant threat of
flooding, declining jute fiber prices and a significant decrease in world
demand, the contribution of the jute sector to the country’s economy deteriorated.
In 1972 the newly formed
government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was also the head of the Awami League,
enacted the Bangladesh Industrial Enterprises (Nationalization) Order, taking
over privately owned textile factories and creating a state-owned enterprise
(SOE) called Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC). President Rahman
promoted democracy and a socialist form of capitalism. The BTMC never managed
to match the pre-1971 output and in every year after the 1975–1976 fiscal years, lost money. Until the early 1980s
the state owned almost all spinning mills in Bangladesh and 85 percent the
textile industry's assets (not including small businesses).[7] Under the 1982 New Industrial Policy
(NPI) a large number of these assets including jute mills and textile mills
were privatized and returned to their original owners.
In the devastating famine in
1974, one million people died, mainly of starvation caused in part by the
flooding of the Brahmaputra River in 1974, and a steep rise in the price of
rice. Partly in response to the economic and political repercussions of the famine,
the Bangladesh government shifted public policy away from its concentration on
a socialist economy, and began to denationalize, disinvest and reduce the role
of the public sector in the textile industry while encouraging private sector
participation. The 1974 New Investment Policy restored the rights to both
private and foreign investors. Bangladesh's development model switched from a
state-sponsored capitalist mode of industrial development with mainly
state-owned enterprises (SOE) to private sector-led industrial growth.
Starting in 1974 the Multi-Fiber
Arrangement (MFA) in the North American market ensured that trade in textiles
and garments remained the most regulated in the world. Among other things the MFA
set quotas on garments exports from the newly industrializing countries of
Asia. Entrepreneurs from quota-restricted countries like South Korea began
"quota hopping" seeking quota-free countries that could become
quota-free manufacturing sites. The export-oriented readymade garment (RMG)
industry emerged at this time. Daewoo of South Korea was an early entrant in
Bangladesh, when it established a joint venture in December 27, 1977 with Desh
Garments Ltd. making it the first export oriented ready-made garment industry
in Bangladesh. After only one year in which 130 Desh supervisors and managers
received free training from Daiwoo in production and marketing at Daiwoo's
state-of-the-art ready-made garment (RMG) plant in Korea, 115 of the 130 left
Desh Garments Ltd. and set up separate private garment export firms or began
working for other newly formed export-oriented RMG companies with new garment
factories in Bangladesh for much higher salaries than Desh Garments Ltd
offered.
Global restructuring processes,
including two non-market factors, such as quotas under Multi Fibre Arrangement
(MFA) (1974–2005) in the North American
market and preferential market access to European markets, led to the "emergence
of an export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh in the late 1970s"
and ensured the garment sector’s continual success.
The garment industry in
Bangladesh became the main export sector and a major source of foreign exchange
starting in 1980, and exported about $5 billion USD in 2002. In 1980 an export
processing zone was officially established in at the port of Chittagong.
By 1981, 300 textile companies,
many small ones had been denationalized often returned to their original
owners. In 1982, shortly after coming to power following a bloodless
coup, President Hussain Muhammad Ershad introduced the New Industrial Policy
(NPI), most significant move in the privatization process, which denationalized
much of the textile industry, created export processing zones (EPZs) and
encouraged direct foreign investment. Under the New Industrial Policy (NPI) 33
jute mills and 27 textile mills were returned to their original owners.
The export of ready-made
garments (RMG) increased from $USD 3.5 million in 1981 to $USD 10.7 billion in
2007. Apparel exports grew, but initially, the ready-made garments RMG industry
was not adequately supported by the growth up and down the domestic supply
chain (e.g., spinning, weaving, knitting, fabric processing, and the
accessories industries).
From 1995 to 2005 the WTO
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) was in effect, wherein more
industrialized countries consented to export fewer textiles while less
industrialized countries enjoyed increased quotas for exporting their textiles.
Throughout the 10-year agreement, Bangladesh’s economy benefited from quota-free access to European markets and
desirable quotas for the American and Canadian markets.
As the above table shows, the
market shares for Bangladeshi textiles in the USA and both textiles and
clothing in the European Union have changed during the time period of the ATC.
Until FY 1994, Bangladesh's
ready-made garments (RMG) industry was mostly dependent on imported fabrics -
the Primary Textile Sector (PTS) was not producing the necessary fabrics and
yarn.
Since the early 1990s, the knit
section expanded mainly producing and exporting shirts, T-shirts, trousers,
sweaters and jackets. In 2006, 90 percent of Bangladesh's total earnings from
garment exports came from its exports to the United States and Europe.
Although there was concern,
noted in an IMF report, that the WTO's Multi Fibre Arrangement, the Agreement
on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), phase-out would shut down the textile and
clothing (T&C) industry, the Bangladesh textile sector actually grew
tremendously after 2004 and reached an export turnover of US$10.7 billion in FY
2007. Bangladesh was expected to suffer the most from the ending of the MFA, as
it was expected to face more competition, particularly from China. However,
this was not the case. It turns out that even in the face of other economic
giants, Bangladesh’s labor is “cheaper than anywhere else in the world.” While some smaller factories were documented making
pay cuts and layoffs, most downsizing was essentially speculative – the orders for goods kept coming even after the MFA
expired. In fact, Bangladesh's exports increased in value by about $500 million
in 2006.
By 2005 the ready-made garments
(RMG) industry was the only multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export
industry in Bangladesh, accounting for 75 per cent of the country's earnings in
that year.
Bangladesh's export trade is
dominated by the ready-made garments (RMG) industry. Bangladesh’s garment exports – mainly to the US and Europe – make up nearly 80% of the country’s export income. Exports of textiles, clothing, and
ready-made garments (RMG) accounted for 77% of Bangladesh’s total merchandise exports in 2002.
Textile exports from Bangladesh
to the United States did increase by 10% in 2009.
Currently, the textile mills
provide 70% of national exports. This proportion is even higher in Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, the number of employed workers in the textile industry increased
by 400 000 in 1990 to 2 million in 2004, and the number of enterprises – from 800 to 4000. Nine out of ten people employed in
the industry – are women. In general, the
state of the textile industry depends on well-being of 10-12 million people in
Bangladesh. By IMF estimates, as a result of the abolition of quota exports of
Bangladesh will be reduced by 25%.
Of the millions of wage earning
children in Bangladesh in 1990, almost all of them worked in the ready-made
garment (RMG) industry. Based on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Labor
Force Survey estimated there were about 5.7 million 10 to 14 years-old children
engaged in child labor. This number may have been as high as 15 million
children. In 1993 employers in Bangladesh' ready-made garment (RMG) industry
dismissed 50,000 children (c. 75 percent of child workers in the textile
industry) out of fear of economic reprisals of the imminent passage of the
Child Labor Deterrence Act (the Harkin Bill after Senator Tom Harkin, one of
the US Senators who proposed the bill). The act which banned "importation
to the United States of products which are manufactured or mined in whole or in
part by children" would have resulted in the loss of lucrative American
contracts. Its impact on Bangladesh's economy would have been significant as
the export-oriented ready-made garment industry represents most of the
country's exports.
The results of surveys varied on
the demographics and size of the ready-made garments industry at the time of
the Harkin Bill. One study estimated that there were 600,000 workers in the
industry. BGMEA estimate was c. 800,000. The Asian-American Free Labor
Institute (AAFLI) reported that in 1994 females constituted about "90
percent of all adult workers, and roughly 60 percent of all child
workers."
By 2001 the textile industry
employed about 3 million workers of whom 90% are women. By 2013, there were
approximately 5,000 garment factories, employing about 4 million people, mostly
women, part of Bangladesh's $19 billion-a-year industry, export-oriented
ready-made garment (RMG) industry. Bangladesh is second only to China, the
world's second-largest apparel exporter of western brands. Sixty percent of the
export contracts of western brands are with European buyers and about forty
percent with the American buyers. It has been a major source of employment for
rural migrant women in a country that has increasingly limited rural livelihood
options, and where women migrants have been largely excluded from formal work
in the cities.
The structure of gender
participation underwent a major shift with the rise of the ready-made garment
industry in Bangladesh. Traditionally the participation of women in
Bangladesh's formal economy was minimal. Bangladesh's flagship export-oriented
ready-made garment industry, however, with female labor accounting for 90
percent of the work force, was "built to a large extent, on the supply of
cheap and flexible female labor in the country."
According to a New York Times
journalist by August 2012 the garment or textile industry which exports worth
$18 billion a year, accounted for "80 percent of manufacturing exports and
more than three million jobs" with predictions by McKinsey & Company
of the industry tripling in size by 2020 (McKinsey 2001:10).
According to the 2014 Bureau of
International Labor Affairs report on goods produced by child labor or forced
labor, the Bangladeshi garments and textile industry still employs underage
children [30] as effective governmental measures are taking considerable time
to be implemented.
Compliance
Five deadly incidents from
November 2012 through May 2013 brought worker safety and labor violations in
Bangladesh to world attention putting pressure on big global clothing brands
such as Primark, Loblaw, Joe Fresh, Gap, Walmart, Nike, Tchibo, Calvin Klein
and Tommy Hilfiger, and retailers to respond by using their economic weight to
enact change. No factory owner has ever been prosecuted over the deaths of
workers. Other major fires 1990 and 2012, resulting in hundreds of accidental
deaths, included those at That's It Sportswear Limited and the fire at Tazreen
Fashions Ltd. Spectrum Sweater Industries, Phoenix Garments, Smart Export
Garments, Garib and Garib, Matrix Sweater, KTS Composite Textile Mills and Sun
Knitting. Major foreign buyers looking for outsourcing demand
compliance-related norms and standards regarding a safe and healthy work
environment which includes fire-fighting equipment, evacuation protocols and
mechanisms and appropriate installation of machines in the whole supply-chain.
RMG insiders in Bangladesh complain about the pressure to comply and argue that
RMG factory owners are hampered by a shortage of space in their rental units.
In spite of this the industry exports totaled $19 billion in 2011-2012. They
expected export earnings to increase to $23 billion in 2012-2013.
Two dozen factory owners are
also Members of Parliament in Bangladesh.
Scott Nova of the Worker Rights
Consortium, a rights advocacy group, claimed that auditors, some of whom were
paid by the factories they inspect, sometimes investigated workers right issues
such as hours or child labor but did not properly inspect factories’ structural soundness or fire safety violations. Nova
argued that the cost of compliance to safety standards in all 5,000 clothing
factories in Bangladesh is about $3 billion (2013).
In 2000 garment entrepreneurs
had a reputation for shirking custom duties, evading corporate taxes, remaining
absent in capital markets, avoiding social projects such as education,
healthcare, and disaster relief but, argued authors Quddus and Salim, these
entrepreneurs took the risks needed to build the industry. Bangladesh
successfully competes in the manufacturing industry by maintaining "lowest
labor costs in the world." Garment workers' minimum wage was set at roughly
$37 a month in 2012 but since 2010 Bangladesh's double-digit inflation with no
corresponding rise in minimum wage and labor rights, has led to protests.
A fire broke out on 24 November
2012, in the Tazreen Fashion factory in Dhaka killing 117 people and injuring
200. It was the deadliest factory fire in the history of Bangladesh.[36]
According to the New York Times, Walmart played a significant role in blocking
reforms to have retailers pay more for apparel in order to help Bangladesh
factories improve safety standards. Walmart director of ethical sourcing,
Sridevi Kalavakolanu, asserted that the company would not agree to pay the
higher cost, as such improvements in electrical and fire safety in the 4,500
factories would be a "very extensive and costly modification" and
that "it is not financially feasible for the brands to make such
investments."
On April 24, 2013 over 1045
textile workers factories making clothes for Western brands, were killed when a
garment factory collapsed. The Savar building collapse was in the Rana Plaza
complex, in Savar, an industrial corner 20 miles northwest of Dhaka, the
capital of Bangladesh. It was the "world's deadliest industrial accident
since the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984.[38] While some 2,500 were rescued from
the rubble including many who were injured, the total number of those missing
remained unknown weeks later.[38] The eight-story building, owned by Sohel
Rana, associated with the ruling Awami League, was constructed on a "pond
filled with sand". It only had planning approval for five floors.[39]
Owners used "shoddy building materials, including substandard rods, bricks
and cement, and did not obtaining the necessary clearances." An engineer
raised safety concerns after noticing cracks in the Rana Plaza complex the day
before its collapse. In spite of this factories stayed open to fill overdue
orders. When generators were restarted after a power blackout the building
caved in. Six garment factories also in Rana Plaza were cleared to re-open on
May 9, 2013 after inspectors allegedly issued safety certificates. Nine people
were arrested including four factory owners, the owner of the complex and the
engineer who warned of the crack in the building.
Immediately following the April
24 deadly industrial accident, Mahbub Ahmed, the top civil servant in
Bangladesh's Commerce Ministry, fearing the loss of contracts that represent 60
per cent of their textile industry exports, pleaded with the EU to not take
tough, punitive measures or "impose any harsh trade conditions" on
Bangladesh to "improve worker safety standards" that would hurt the
"economically crucial textile industry" and lead to the loss of
millions of jobs.
On May 9, 2013 eight people were
killed when a fire broke out at a textile factory in an eleven-story building
in the Mirpur industrial district owned by Tung Hai Group, a large garment
exporter. Sheikh Hasina, the president of the politically powerful textile
industry lobby group, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), told Reuters that "the Bangladeshi managing director
of the company and a senior police officer were among the dead."
As of June 2014, efforts to
improve safety were being coordinated under "an unprecedented
comprehensive "Accord on Fire and Building Safety" ... Around 180
companies - mostly from Europe - international and local trade unions,
Bangladeshi employers, exporters and government are part of this
agreement." In addition, a "Bangladesh Alliance for Worker Safety -
an association of 26 American companies including CAP and Wal-Mart" seeks
to address these issues from an entrepreneurial standpoint, without
participation of trade unions. Together the two groups "are responsible
for inspecting around 2,100 factories over a period of five years." As of
July 2014, progress had been made in inspecting about 600 factories. A
spokesman stated that "Ten factories have been submitted to the Government
Established Review Panel and most have been either closed completely or
partially."
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is a recognised trade body that represents
export oriented garment manufacturers and garment exporters of the country. The
fundamental objective of BGMEA is to establish a healthy business environment
for a close and mutually beneficial relationship between manufacturers,
exporters and importers, thereby ensuring steady growth in the foreign exchange
earnings of the country.
BGMEA is being run by a
27-member elected Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is elected for a
two-year term. Four Vice Presidents having important portfolios, along with a
secretariat of experienced officials, assists the President in formulating and
executing vital policies and programs of the organization. The President is the
highest executive authority of the association. The Board of Directors takes
assistance from different Standing Committees headed by a Chairman and composed
of members having vast experience in the related fields. Strict adherence to
democratic norms and code of conduct are being maintained in the BGMEA
elections, which has been regarded as a trend setter in trade body elections of
Bangladesh for its pre-election projection caucus and election-day
discipline.The current president of BGMEA is Md. Atiqul Islam.
Effect of Trade Agreements on
Textiles and Clothing Industry in Bangladesh
The United States introduced the
Tariff Relief Assistance for Developing Economies Act of 2009 designated Bangladesh
as one of the 14 least developed countries (LDC), as defined by the United
Nations and the US State Department, eligible for "duty-free access for
apparel assembled in those countries and exported to the U.S." from 2009
through 2019. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association
(BGMEA), an industry lobby group, claimed that in 2008 alone Bangladesh paid
"$USD 576 million as duty against its export of nearly $3 billion' mainly
consisting of woven and knitwear.
McKinsey report (2011):
Bangladesh as next hot spot, next China
Currently Bangladesh is now
second largest ready-made garments (RMG) manufacturer after China, by the next
five years Bangladesh will become the largest ready-made garments (RMG)
manufacturer. Bangladesh was the sixth largest exporter of apparel in the world
after China, the EU, Hong Kong, Turkey and India in 2006.[citation needed] In
2006 Bangladesh's share in the world apparel exports was 2.8%. The US was the
largest single market with US$3.23 billion in exports, a 30% share in 2007.
Today, the US remains the largest market for Bangladesh's woven garments taking
US$2.42 billion, a 47% share of Bangladesh's total woven exports. The European
Union remains the largest regional destination - Bangladesh exported US$5.36
billion in apparel; 50% of their total apparel exports. The EU took a 61% share
of Bangladeshi knitwear with US$3.36 billion exports.
According to a 2011 report by
international consulting firm McKinsey & Company, 80 percent of American
and European clothing companies planned to move their outsourcing from China,
where wages had risen, and were considering Bangladesh as the "next hot
spot" making it the "next China"[29][46] offering 'the lowest
price possible' known as the China Price, the hallmark of China’s incredibly cheap, ubiquitous manufacturers, much
"dreaded by competitors."
Li & Fung Ltd in the
Bangladesh RMG sector
Bangladesh is second only to
China in the supply chain of billionaire brothers Victor and William Fung's
global sourcing giant Li & Fung Ltd,[48] a Hong Kong-based company.
Bangladesh has been part of the producing network of Li & Fung Ltd since
1995, following Li & Fung Ltd's acquisition and subsequent expansion of an
established British trading company, Inchcape Buying Services.[49] Li &
Fung supplies dozens of major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
branded as Walmart.
In his chapter entitled Li &
Fung, Ltd.: An agent of global production (2001), Cheng used Li & Fung Ltd
as a case study in the international production fragmentation trade theory
through which producers in different countries are allocated a specialized
slice or segment of the value chain of the global production. Allocations are
determined based on "technical feasibility" and the ability to keep
the lowest final price possible for each product.
Major Western brands and
retailers met in Germany in April for talks regarding Bangladesh building and
fire safety setting a May 15, 2013 deadline for a joint agreement. By May 14,
2013 European companies which Europe account for about 60 percent of Bangladesh's
clothing exports: United Colors of Benetton, Britain's Marks & Spencer,
Sweden's H & M Hennes, Mauritz AB, Inditex SA, and one American company,
PVH, which owns brands including Calvin Klein, had endorsed an accord.[48] but
Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other companies affiliated with Li & Fung did not
sign the endorsement. Following the April 2013 tragedy, Walmart's Rajan
Kamalanathan, vice president of ethical sourcing for Walmart spoke with the
press. Walmart hired "Bureau Veritas to inspect factories for structural,
fire and electrical safety, including checking building designs and permits as
part of an expanded inspection process" and is pressuring Bangladesh to
close factories.[48]
Bruce Rockowitz, Li & Fung's
group president and chief executive spoke to Li & Fung's group shareholders
in Hong Kong on May 13, 2013 arguing Li & Fung Ltd should stay in
Bangladesh, and "invest more and try to make safety better and work with
the government on doing a better job on monitoring buildings.'
In January 2010 Li & Fung
(Trading) Limited formed a new subsidiary company called WSG group, a dedicated
sourcing stream servicing Wal-Mart globally, selling up to $2 billion worth of
goods including WSG, home furnishings, apparel and other items, during the first
year of the partnership. Li & Fung President Bruce Rockowitz, explained
that direct sourcing is a huge, volume-driven, lower-margin business resulting
in the lowest prices which is an advantage to Walmart. Li & Fung Ltd, a
Hong Kong-based company, funnels clothes, toys and sporting goods to brand-name
retailers including Kohl's, Target, Marks and Spencer and Talbots. Since 2006
Li & Fung control extended deeper into the supply chain to include
logistics, production and product design effectively replacing and consolidated
the role of middlemen.
Education in textile sector
'Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTex)' is the only public university
specializing in textile engineering in Bangladesh .It was graduated from
college in full flagged university on 22 December 2010 by an ordinance of
Education Ministry and has a glorious history starting as a weaving school
under British colonial rule in 1921. Now the University offers graduation
courses in Textile Engineering, Industrial Production Engineering, Textile Management
& Fashion design. 'Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET)'
has also started B.Sc in Textile Engineering from session 2012–2013.
There are Government and private
Textile Engineering College under different universities which offers B.Sc. in
Textile Engineering course including specialization in Yarn Manufacturing,
Fabric Manufacturing, Wet Processing, Garments Manufacturing and Fashion
Design. The institutions are as below:
