Bangladesh news and archive

In Bangladesh, Tangail's sari weaving art hangs by a thread

Tangail (Bangladesh) - Despite its recent official recognition by Unesco, the centuries-old art of Tangail sari weaving is struggling in Bangladesh. It is threatened by the relentless evolution of fashion and economic competition. In his workshop in the town that gave its name to the craft, Ajit Kumar Roy holds little hope for the future of the...

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South Asian textiles: End of a competitive advantage? A critical review of the French Treasury's quarterly letter

The quarterly letter published by the French Treasury offers a detailed diagnosis. The textile and apparel industry remains the industrial and social core of the economies of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As a pillar of exports, a mass employer and a key driver of female employment, the sector has long relied on a simple competitive...

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Maersk secures 30-year lease for Bangladesh's Chattogram container terminal

On Monday, Bangladesh signed a 30-year lease with Danish global shipping giant Maersk to manage a new container terminal in Chattogram (south-east), the country's largest port. Officials from the Chattogram Port Authority stated that APM Terminals, the Maersk subsidiary involved in the project, will invest approximately 550 million dollars over...

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Bangladesh, US negotiate to avert 35 percent tariff on textile exports

Trade negotiations between the US and Bangladesh officially resumed on Tuesday, July 29, in Washington, D.C. These talks are taking place amidst significant protectionist pressure from the Trump administration. The aim is to prevent the imminent implementation of punitive tariffs, which could reach 35 percent, on Bangladeshi exports, primarily...

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Asia holds the thread: Regional textile powers reinvent strategies amid global slowdown

While 2024-2025 financial results show a slowdown in consumption in several Asian countries – particularly for luxury groups like LVMH – the global textile sector continues to rely on the region. Several indicators from the first half of 2025 confirm Asia’s central role in global value chains. Between export growth, structural adjustments,...

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People|Background

Trade union freedom is still a long way off in fashion: "It's essential that brands sit down with employees"

2023 and 2024 were years of protests for Bangladeshi garment workers. Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets, demanding, among other things, payment arrears and the lack of structural improvements: a living wage, meal allowances, raises for night shifts, and more lenient work duties for pregnant women. These protests were intended to...

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Bangladesh hopes for trade agreement with US

Dhaka, July 8, 2025 – Bangladesh, the world's second-largest textile manufacturer, still hopes to reach an agreement with the US to avoid the sharp rise in customs duties threatened by Donald Trump. A senior official told AFP on Tuesday. The textile industry contributes 80 percent of the South Asian country's total exports. One-fifth of its...

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Fashion

Bangladesh protests bring production to a halt for Fashion's top brands

Levi's and H&M are among top global clothing brands to suffer production halts in Bangladesh, a garment union leader said Friday, after days of violent protests by workers demanding a near-tripling of their wages. Bangladesh's 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 percent of the South Asian country's 55 billion dollars annual exports,...

Fashion Partner Content

Registration for The IAF’s 37th World Fashion Convention is Open Now

IAF is proud to invite the global apparel industry to its 37th World Fashion Convention that the global industry body is organizing with its Bangladeshi members, BGMEA and BKMEA. Registration for these events has now opened on the joint, dedicated convention website. The Convention will contain a full day conference and a network dinner. The...

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Business|INTERVIEW

Bangladesh: "Our garment industry is one of the safest in the world today"

Faruque Hassan is the new president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Association (BGMEA). The country has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the looming expiration of the Bangladesh Accord, a new tug-of-war has begun between brands, factories, unions and NGOs over responsibilities and accountability for the health and safety...

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Bangladesh’s garment exports to recover pre-Covid levels by October

Garment export might make a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels by October this year as shipments are rebounding with the reopening of Western retail stores. “The trend of garment shipment is good with the rise in demand in the Western world,” said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association...

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Fashion

The Bangladesh safety accord expires in May. What next?

Bangladesh in 2021 remains a garment manufacturing hub for the world’s leading high street and mid-market brands. It is also a region with a well-documented history of factory incidents and unsafe workplaces for its garment workers. After the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013, which killed over 1,100 workers, the Accord on Fire and Building...