Readymade Garment (Local)

Local readymade garments contributed 80% of local consumption

Around 65,000 manufacturing units and 5 million workers engaged in local RMG sector.

Local RMG industry uses various inputs and make a wide range of apparel to local low cost and price-sensitive market segments.

Local RMG sector in Bangladesh is suffering from an acute decent work deficit with no recognition from the government

120,000 child workers are engaged in keraniganj local RMG sector where 34% are below 18 years and 17% are below 14 years.

The local market Readymade Garment Industry in Bangladesh made a silent revolution. The industry contributed by covering around 80% of local consumption. This local RMG industry mainly uses various inputs including fabric, garment accessories, and allied industries services such as washing, embroidery, labels, packaging, etc. from excessive/leftovers of the Export Oriented Readymade Garment Industry to design and make a wide range of apparel mainly to cater to local low cost and price-sensitive market segments. In other words, local garment industries fall between the supply chains of a complete industry that produces and markets a variety of clothes and apparel mainly for local consumers. Very recently a large number of these small-scale industries and workshops were established in different areas of Bangladesh to supply various industrial products and meet the local demands. According to Report on Economic Census 2013, there is about 65,000 manufacturing unit wearing apparel (Ready-made garments; economic code – 14).

It is also estimated that it engaged more than 5 million people. Among these manufacturing industries, about 78% are dedicated to the local market; over 11% produce garments for exporting and less than 1% produce garments for both markets and 9.9% of manufacturing units do not engage in selling the products. The local RMG sector in Bangladesh is presently suffering from an acute decent work deficit with no recognition from the government. It is developed rather haphazardly with private initiatives from local and some outside entrepreneurs who have used their private capital to develop this industry. Child Labour is a great concern in the local RMG industry. As per a Study on Child labour in Keraniganj Apparel Hub in 2017 by BLF, only in Keraniganj of Dhaka Division, there are about 120,000 child workers are engaged in works regular basis. From the findings, of the total workers in Keraniganj, 34% are below 18 years and 17% are below 14 years.

Most of the Child labours are brought from rural areas by the factory owner and most of the workers are either relatives or neighbours of the owners. The owners just provide food to them and they only stay in the factory and sleep on the factory floor. They are frequently denied of their remunerations, engaged in work for interminable hours, confined to unhygienic, unsafe, and unhealthy working conditions resulting in respiratory diseases and physical disabilities, and in one-word bonded labour. BLF is working as a single organisation to formalise this sector with regulatory authorities and contribute to achieving SDG-5, SDG-8, and SDG-16 by establishing responsible, democratic, and sustainable local RMG industries.