Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister says that global garment buyers have begun to regain confidence in the country as a sourcing destination in light of the changes that have been made since the Rana Plaza disaster last year. Speaking during a recent conference in Dhaka, the minister also expressed hope that the U.S. would restore GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) trade benefits and noted that he would be travelling to Washington, DC to meet with officials regarding this. (BanglaMail24)

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has published detailed inspection reports on over 27 readymade garment factories in Bangladesh, each of which have had deficiencies identified. Alliance officials say that they will work with each of these factories to address the noted issues, though there are a few with severe structural problems which the group has recommended for closure. Over 500 of the 630 member factories have been inspected and the Alliance says that it hopes to complete the remaining inspections by July. (PR Web)

Bangladesh’s Minister of Labor has expressed concern that ongoing factory closures spurred by western buyers could lead to a new round of unrest in the country as thousands of people are suddenly put out of work. The minister noted that while he applauds the efforts of the Alliance and the Accord to improve workplace safety in the country, economic issues must also be considered and putting thousands of workers suddenly out of work would have a negative ripple effect throughout the entire country. (NewAgeBD)

The government of Bangladesh has announced the commencement of a new project aimed at helping the garment accessories and packaging sectors grow along with the already-burgeoning readymade garment industry. The INSPIRED Project (Integrated Support to Poverty and Inequality Reduction through Enterprise Development) is a cooperative effort with the European Union whose goal is to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the accessory and packaging arenas grow and thrive with funding and advisory services. The project is scheduled to run through 2017. (Fibre2Fashion)