Bangladesh is resilient. It has to be. The country, which has faced international scrutiny following a catastrophic disaster, the overthrow and reformation of its government, and ongoing energy issues, remains, through it all, one of the world’s top apparel producers.
In a conversation with Caletha Crawford, head of content for Hertzman Global Intelligence, Vidya Amrit Khan, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and deputy managing director of garment factory Desh Group, admits that it’s all very dramatic — but she said there’s another reality too, which is an industry on the rise.
Bangladesh’s apparel sector has been built on scale and high-street fashion and operates on razor thin margins, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. And there have been many.
Energy constraints, already a major concern, have intensified due to the blockages related to the war in Iran. At the same time, regulatory demands — particularly from Europe — are accelerating, requiring deeper investments in traceability, sustainability and reporting infrastructure. On top of it all, tariff volatility has disrupted order flows and introduced new layers of uncertainty into pricing. And while IEEPA tariffs have gone away, in their wake remain questions about whether suppliers in the country will see any of the promised refunds.
The latter situation puts a spotlight on imbalance in the dynamic between buyers and their factories, which can sometimes best be described as a “love-hate relationship.”
Still, Bangladesh is adapting.
Through it all, Amrit Khan said Bangladesh today is more compliant, more transparent and more operationally sophisticated than many brands give it credit for. The country now leads globally in LEED-certified green factories and has made significant strides in worker safety, environmental standards and regulatory alignment.
As it looks to the future, Amrit Khan said the country is diversifying and attracting new brand partners.
“Our product mix is increasing. We’re making more things. We’re working a lot with man-made fibers; our policies for that are changing,” she said. “There are some very smart young [people] a generation below me who are very smart. And they’re educated in the sense that they’ve actually studied textile engineering, they’ve studied designing, they’ve studied sustainability. They’re bringing that knowledge and using it for their father’s age-old businesses.”
Watch the full conversation for a ground-level perspective on where the industry is heading—and what it means for your sourcing strategy.
