Everything You Need To Know About Dhaka's Textile Industry

In recent years, Bangladesh has become synonymous with readymade garments. We’ve all seen the famous label ‘made in Bangladesh’ over a t-shirt, dress, or pair of trousers.

According to an article by Forbes, the garment and textile business is to this day Bangladesh's main industry, making up 80% of its total exports. This country was the second largest apparel manufacturer in the world in 2020, right after China, and world-renowned brands, such as H&M, Marks and Spencer, and Target have decided to build their factories here (Forbes, 2020). According to 2015 estimates, a total of 4 million people in Bangladesh work in this industry, 80% of whom are women (UNICEF, 2015). Numbers have most likely increased in recent years. 

This country produces a wide range of textiles. For instance, the cotton industry here is mainly made of small and medium-sized family-owned and operated businesses. Synthetic production is relatively new to this country with the main materials being produced here including polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibers. The home textile market is still relatively small even though it is steadily increasing and aims at manufacturing items such as bed sheets, towels, and other household textiles. Lastly, the Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector remains the most lucrative and successful one, accounting for 84% of total exports (McKinsey & Company, 2021). With roughly 4,500 garment export facilities (The New York Times, 2021), the textile industry in Bangladesh keeps thriving.

Bangladesh has always been known for its textile production, however, over the last decade this industry has maintained a 10% growth, accounting for 8% of the global $700 billion market. This may be due to several factors, among which the rise of fast fashion and the cheap labor costs for which this country is renowned play a pivotal role (Suntech Insights, 2024). 

In this scenario, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, remains one of the largest textile hubs in the country. Over 800,000 people in this city are estimated to work in this sector, however, both the working conditions of this metropolis and its impact on the environment remain quite negative.

Dhaka’s sustainability challenges 

Unfortunately, Dhaka still needs to implement effective policies when it comes to sustainability. This city is one of the fastest-growing metropolises in the developing world and is among the most densely populated. According to a report published by the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), industrial pollution in Dhaka is now responsible for 60% of pollution in the city watershed, with the textile industry being the second largest contributor, after tanneries (NRDC, 2012). This is roughly equal to 300 metric tons of water pollution per ton of fabric produced. But this is not all. Textile production is also linked to the usage of harmful chemicals and is responsible for huge energy consumption. Unfortunately, the problem seems to be worsening year after year, and in 2019, the local government declared three rivers in Dhaka ‘biologically dead’ due to the effluents of surrounding garment factories (Iamrenew, 2019).

To this day, water waste remains one of the main issues faced by this city. Dhaka often experiences power grid blackouts with up to two to eight cases per hour. This is extremely problematic as when these power blackouts occur not only production lines in the factory stop, but also their Effluent Treatment Processes (ETPs), namely wastewater treatment machines. These are supposed to be running 24/7 as they clean and sanitise polluted water coming from dyeing processes.

Local factory owners are well aware of the need to start prioritising greener technologies but often don’t have the necessary money to do so. “The first who is paying the price is the climate,” said Sabrina Nourin in an interview with the Pulitzer Center, a senior research associate for the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) at Brac University (Pulitzer Center, 2021). Saadul Islam, the Managing Director of a home decor brand called Beni Boonon, said that near his factory which now employs roughly 450 people, there are four other establishments selling similar products that don’t “have an ETP (wastewater systems machine), and [don’t pay] the minimum wage.” 

But how did Bangladesh and in particular Dhaka become such a massive textile hub renowned all over the world? 

Past and Present of Dhaka as a textile hub

Dhaka has been a thriving textile manufacturing center for centuries, as this area was one of the most important centers for the cotton textile trade in the 17th century. This city was also vastly renowned for its Jamdani muslin trade and in 2013 UNESCO included the Jamdani muslin in its intangible cultural heritage list declaring: “Jamdani is a vividly patterned, sheer cotton fabric, traditionally woven on a handloom by craftspeople and apprentices around Dhaka” (UNESCO, 2013).

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the textile industry in Dhaka increased exponentially but unfortunately, this was not followed by the necessary infrastructure changes. This reality is evident in the many incidents that have taken place in this city. For instance, the Rana Plaza disaster which occurred in 2013 and caused the death of 1,100 garment workers. As a consequence, many brands and international organisations introduced new policies to improve local working conditions with a particular focus on safety measures, such as the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, but more still needs to be done. 

According to a report published by UNICEF, child labor remains a massive issue in Dhaka (Unicef, 2015). The report mentions a survey that was undertaken in one of the city’s main garment hubs and showed that out of the 185,000 employees working there almost 60% were under the age of 18. While most children were above the legal minimum age for work, most of them did not attend school and some were found to be working 17 hours per day.

Conclusion

Even though Dhaka remains one of the most important textile hubs in the world, this city has to drastically improve its sustainability policies, with a focus on wastewater, and implement better working conditions for its employees, especially targeting child labor. 

Luckily, the local government is now working towards better practices in the textile industry as certified by the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which was signed by over 190 brands and 1500 factories and constitutes a binding agreement between trade unions and brands to ensure worker safety.