Bangladesh apparel industry needs to tackle mistruths head-on
If one were to read the international media, one might be given the impression that Bangladesh is a wasteland, when we all know that it is anything but. For years, as a country, we have worked to drag ourselves out of poverty and build a presence on the international stage. Many of us in the industrial sector work unhealthily long hours and have done so for years in an effort to better ourselves and our people.
Our garment workers toil in challenging conditions to meet the needs of demanding international buyers who can pick and choose their suppliers in an ultra-competitive market. It's tough alright. But we get on with it as proud Bangladeshis, we take satisfaction in our achievements of becoming established as a pre-eminent apparel sourcing hub. We won't stop as we know that only through hard work can we raise living standards in our country.
But, just sometimes, we need a break. It feels at times like many people globally have not kept pace with Bangladesh's economic development. They still seem to think the clothing we produce is made in ramshackle buildings using antiquated equipment and of low quality.
The most recent example of this complete misrepresentation of Bangladesh was made by one of the world's largest media streaming businesses, Netflix. In a French movie called, "The Last Mercenary", released on the global streaming platform on July 30, 2021, one character says, "Yes, Bulletproof Tuxedo, Made in France. I'd be dead if it were Bangladesh." As our industry trade body the BGMEA rightly points out, the comment is disrespectful and derogatory to our RMG industry and belittles the hard work of the four million garment workers of Bangladesh who are delivering "Made in Bangladesh" apparel to about 160 countries in the world, including the USA. BGMEA, in a bold move, demanded Netflix to immediately expunge the comment and stop streaming the movie until the comment is removed.
This is not the first time we have been misrepresented and we all know it won't be the last. The problem with such depictions is that, for many viewers of films such as this, the impression they gain of Bangladesh will be their first. And, as well all know, first impressions count and they stick. It is very difficult to win hearts and minds when people already have pre-conceived ideas about your industry. This is why so many visitors I welcome to our country are always pleasantly surprised when they see that things are not as they have been portrayed in the global media.
Another recent report in the New York Times was headlined, "Dozens Die as Another Factory Fire Strikes Bangladesh". This was not an RMG factory but the report conflated the incident to our RMG sector and noted that, "despite a public outcry after the tragedies, conditions in many factories have remained largely unchanged, and fires are common."
Really? Our RMG sector witnessed one of the largest industrial safety programmes ever implemented with the advent of the Bangladesh Accord and Alliance for Worker Safety. These two programmes saw tens of millions of dollars funnelled into RMG factories, fixing remedial works, fire safety and a range of other issues. What was the actual point of all this if we are still to be labelled as "largely unchanged?" Why do we continue to be judged so harshly and unfairly?
How do we counter the negative perceptions of Bangladesh and its RMG industry which continue to do us unfair reputational damage? I have touched on this issue before, but some of the messages are worth repeating, especially at a time when it is more important than ever to win the hearts and minds of customers.
We are at a genuinely pivotal moment for the global garment trade where, I believe, many big fashion players are making decisions about their future direction as far as sourcing is concerned. We have an opportunity to position ourselves as the de facto, one-stop-shop sourcing hub for many big players in the post-Covid world.
But poor PR and misleading stories about our industry will not help us on this journey. I repeat many of my previous messages—namely that public relations and marketing is the next step (perhaps the final step) in our journey towards becoming the number one choice for fashion sourcing moving forward.
For too long, we have been allowing external influences to control the message around our RMG sector, depicting us in less than favourable terms among customers and industry stakeholders. It's time to fight back with our own, modern, hard-hitting messaging, befitting of an industry which has a completely different status quo to that which it is all too often depicted.
Mostafiz Uddin is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE).
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