Seeds of change in the garment industry

Garment manufacturing is seen as a major opportunity for Bangladesh’s development. The sector has seen massive growth, but with this growth has come a variety of challenges around safety, working conditions, and exposure to international markets. Overall, while there is no doubt about the role garment manufacturing will play in Bangladesh’s development, it is still very much an area that requires research to understand the sector and its wider effects on development.

IGC Bangladesh hosted an event on 16th July to disseminate and discuss the findings of several pieces of research relating to the garment sector.

Researchers from Oxford, Berkeley, New York and Dhaka universities presented on the decisions garment workers make regarding which factory to work at, remittances to their families, and career progression. The event also covered the impact of targeted vocational training for workers in Northern Bangladesh, and progress to date on infrastructure compliance in the industry as a whole.

It brought together international researchers and had them engage with factory owners, policymakers, and other local think tanks/institutes in Bangladesh working on these topics.

The event agenda can be found below.

For more information, please contact [email protected].