Production country
Bangladesh
Despite rapid advancements in Bangladesh's garment and footwear sector, the risk of labour right violations remain high. Fair Wear's longstanding local engagement supports brands in navigating these challenges, providing in-country HREDD services and support grounded in local realities.
Bangladesh is known for its ready-made-garments (RMG) sector, which contributes approximately 11% to the country’s GDP. The garment sector of Bangladesh plays a pivotal role in driving the country’s economic growth. At the same time, consistent implementation remains a challenge, and risks related to freedom of association, working hours, wages, and workplace safety persist. Women workers, who form the majority of the workforce, continue to face structural barriers to higher-paid roles. Bangladesh leads globally in green garment production, reflecting its commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing practices.
The second-largest exporter of garments globally.
Over 2,8 million estimated garment workers
276
Factories Fair Wear members source from
24
Fair Wear member brands sourcing from the country
What Fair Wear is doing
How we work locally with partners to address risks and improve working conditions.
Due diligence requires companies to know what is happening in their supply chain. Fair Wear has state of the art risk assessment tools that support brands with identifying and tracking their most urgent risks. In Bangladesh, the local team offers extensive risk identification and validation services based on Fair Wear methodologies. Companies can access detailed, stakeholder-validated country risk information and request Fair Wear's Onsite Assessments (Full, Modular and Validation). Companies can also request custom HREDD facilitation support, such as verification activities.
Insight only creates change when you act on it. Fair Wear equips brands with a set of established training modules to raise awareness, address root causes and implement mechanisms for prevention, mitigation and remediation. In Bangladesh, companies can request the Fair Wear Onboarding Training for suppliers and workers, which focuses on awareness-raising on workers' rights and support for social dialogue between workers and management. The Fair Wear Fair Price support visit offers hands-on support with implementation of the Fair Price app, a practical tool for estimating labour costs and building fact-based pricing conversations with suppliers. The Fair Wear Violence and Harassment Prevention Programme adresses workplace standards and violence prevention and supports with the creation of functioning factory-level anti-harassment committees. Moreover, companies can request HREDD-related training such as training on the promotion of Social Dialogue and training on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC).
Workers know best which risks exist in their own workplace. Fair Wear’s grievance mechanism is available in Bengali, ensuring workers can raise concerns in their own language. It provides an accessible, confidential channel, with findings feeding into Fair Wear’s work with brands and suppliers to address root causes.
Fair Wear brings the right people to the table in Bangladesh through our extensive stakeholder network. We collaborate with a wide network of local organisations, such as Gender platform network Bangladesh, the Awaj Foundation, the BGMEA and BKMEA,bringing together industry and worker representation to advance policy alignment, working conditions and strengthen social dialogue across the sector.
Related stories
Explore news and stories on our in-country work