Let’s give a new meaning to ‘Made in Bangladesh’

“Made in Bangladesh” is a brand which now resonates around the world, thanks to the size and global reach of our RMG industry. But what does it mean to end consumers? How does it resonate with the people who wear the clothing that garment workers toil to produce in our factories?

Having had the good fortune to travel a great deal these past two decades, I can say that our country’s branding can offer mixed messages. For many Western consumers, it is associated with cheap clothing and a business model which sees Europe, the US and other Western countries outsource low-cost industries to the Global South. “Made in Bangladesh” has also developed some unsavoury connotations since the Rana Plaza collapse. The image of garment workers being crammed into unsafe factories—which no longer holds true for Bangladesh and needs to be stated—is one which has been hard to erase from a marketing and PR standpoint.

“Made in Bangladesh,” then, offers mixed messages around the world. It does not have the standing of, say, “Made in Germany” or even “Made in England,” but, it is a brand on the world stage—for good or bad.

How can we improve it, then? Telling people about the provenance and authenticity of the products they purchase is becoming an increasingly powerful marketing tool in a crowded global market. With so many products fighting for audience and market share, and so much social media noise, gaining cut through and creating a memorable impression with one’s audience is a huge challenge.

I believe there are opportunities for the RMG industry of Bangladesh here. There is a growing interest in where and how products are made among consumers, and it is up to us, as the world’s second largest producer of clothing, to respond to these new market dynamics.

Technology can play a key role here. In the textile and fashion space, we are increasingly seeing technology being used to track and trace textile fibres and garments from one part of the world to another, with blockchain also being used along the way. These generally see a unique “marker” being applied to textile fibres so that it then becomes possible to identify them along supply chains. Technological solutions like this are increasingly being demanded by our buyers in order to satisfy the requirements around supply chain transparency. This kind of technology is certainly the next big thing in our industry, and it is important that we, as suppliers, understand it and realise how it can be utilised.

Taking one recent example from another country: a traceable textile specialist has just announced a partnership with an industrial park developer in Africa to supply fully traceable cotton from Benin. This new pilot programme will enable spinner-to-garment traceability on products, offering huge potential to grow and develop Africa’s cotton sector.