Britain-based apparel retail giant Marks & Spencer has lauded Bangladesh’s progress in compliance at the readymade garment factories, terming it as a ‘success story’.
Bangladesh has outperformed its competitor countries in green compliance for garment factories, said Shwapna Bhowmick, Country Head of Marks & Spencer. “The nation should highlight this success and uphold its story to the world.”
She was speaking as a panel discussant at a dialogue on green compliance, held at Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka on September 9, 2018.
Currently, Bangladesh has the highest number of green garment factories in the globe. Some 67 have already obtained the LEED certification of the US Green Building Council and over 300 more are waiting in line to obtain the certification.
“Bangladesh is a great success story in green initiative when it is compared to other countries. Bangladesh should market its great achievements with effective communication skills,” Bhowmick said.
She also lauded Bangladesh for the quality of apparels it now makes. “Previously, it was thought that Bangladesh makes only the basic garment items. Now, we have more value-added apparel items being produced here. The highest selling value-added garment items are produced in Bangladesh,” she added.
She added that Marks & Spencer sources 40 per cent of the quantity of its global apparel purchase from Bangladesh. Continuing further, she said her company sources 90 per cent of denim from Bangladesh while 70 per cent of those denim fabrics are also purchased from the local mills.
As areas of improvement, she touched on the note included shortening the lead-time and training its workers so that the productivity at the garments units can be increased.