Fashion industry needs coordinated initiatives to earn due status

The fashion industry in our country has advanced a lot with time. It has expanded in caliber and variation also. The number of fashion brands has also increased considerably Ethnic brands have gradually increased since independence.

Different brands started arising from the readymade garments sector. These are now significant in number. Other than Aarong, therevare the main driving force of country’s fashion industry now.

There are designers working with exclusive and upscale collections under the umbrella of designer labels. And, the number of e-commerce and f-commerce entrepreneurs have increased exponentially during and after the Covid pandemic outbreak.

A considerable number of these brands have gained popularity with quality products. Their participation in this industry has also been increasing gradually.

These four dimensional partners are the ones taking the fashion industry of Bangladesh forward. However, the local fashion industry is failing to gain due status as no effective organisation has yet been created with the inclusion of these four types of stakeholders.

Now seems to be the best time for forming an alliance. A wind of change has been sweeping over Bangladesh following the mass uprising. Different sectors are being reformed. So, it doesn’t seem there would be a better time coming to set this industry on a solid foundation.

Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (FEAB) possesses the caliber to play the most effective role in this regard. They took the initiative and applied at the ministry of industries in 2015. This correspondent also had some role in submitting that application at the time.

However, there has been no progress as there were no visible initiatives going forward. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s beauty industry has been able to earn the status of being an ‘industrial sector’ by taking that same initiative much latter.

Basically, this status plays a significant role in bargaining with the government. There’s no doubt that the local fashion industry is constantly being deprived of that advantage. However, around 10 million (1 crore) people across the country in various ways are involved in this industry.

Including, small, large and medium sized ones, there are about 5,500 fashion houses in Bangladesh. The number of established brands among them is not that few either. And, there is significant number of women involved in this industry.

According to unofficial sources, the government is also reaping significant revenue from this sector with an annual turnover of Tk 100 billion (Tk 10,000 crore).

In return, this industry is not receiving any notable benefits from the government, which could have been possible if it had the status of being an ‘industrial sector’. And the barrier to being recognised as an industrial sector is the lack of participation from all and failure to own this industry.

It goes without saying that it is high time to bridge the gap between ourselves now. Otherwise, the prospect of becoming a proper industrial sector will remain a mere dream. And, we would have to face various pressures at home and abroad as well.

For example, the pressure of imported merchandise is already there now. There has always been bias on government’s part towards imported items. It did not change in the last budget either. Rather the supplementary duty on the import of 172 types of RMG for men, women, and children was reduced. The total duty on the import of these products has been reduced from 122.5 per cent to 100 per cent.

Some of the garments items on which supplementary duty has been reduced include T-shirts, trousers, suits, jackets, shirts, raincoats, etc. of men, women and children. This advantage has been given in the budget for the second consecutive time now.

Notably, there was 127.72 per cent duty on the import of 172 types of clothing in the last 2022-23 fiscal year. The next year meaning in the current 2023-24 fiscal year, the duty came down to 122.50 per cent due to reduction of supplementary duty. Imports of RMG increased after the supplementary duty reduced in 2023-24 fiscal year.

According to National Board of Revenue (NBR) data, as many as 23.5 million (2.35 crore) pieces of RMG worth Tk 5.02 billion (Tk 502 crore) were imported into the country last year. However, 26.3 million (2.63 crore) pieces of clothing were imported in 2022. It had cost Tk 4.66 billion (Tk 466 crore) at that time.

Even though the number of clothing imported is less, it cost more as there was an increase in the dollar rate last year. The way clothing items are imported every year through formal channels, there are informal channels too. These clothes are arriving in Bangladesh through formal and informal channels from more than 90 countries around the world. As much as 96 per cent of them are coming from India, Pakistan and China.

Bangladesh is the second best RMG exporter country in the world. Beyond that, a separate industry of local clothes has emerged as well. The question is whether there is even any need to import garments for the domestic market of Bangladesh. On what purpose import of garments is being encouraged is not clear. Meanwhile, local brands are facing unfair competition for encouraging import of garments from abroad.

Entrepreneurs are naturally faced with challenges due to the increase in wages of workers, raw materials, cloths and electricity. A huge amount of RMG has been imported in the past even with the high duty tax. Now, people concerned believe the situation will worsen terribly due to the slash in duty tax. Because, local entrepreneurs will be discouraged if the market is flooded by imported RMG items. So, the decision needs to be reconsidered to protect the local industry.

This cannot be denied that the entrepreneurs involved in the local fashion industry work throughout the year with marginalised population of various professions. There are also many craft artistes included in this process. Even village women are finding employment in this industry. The number of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in the supply chain is also quite significant.

Overall, employment in the local fashion industry is relatively high compared to many other industries. In this context, if import of garments is encouraged marginal weavers, craft artistes or people involved in needlework will gradually lose their work.

So, in the interest of the country the duty tax on import of RMG goods needs to be increased not reduced. That is also the demand of the stakeholders of this industry. If that is followed or necessary initiatives are taken, it will ensure the protection of indigenous industries as well as the marginalised population involved there.

For now, the truth we have to face at the end of the day is that the lack of coordination and solid role of all stakeholders in the fashion industry is pushing it towards a threatening condition. And, they are the ones being endangered. The only way out of this situation is to organise and strengthen relationship with the government for earning due status for this industry.

What’s unfortunate is that, more than a month has passed since the interim government assumed office. However, no organisation from the local fashion industry has contacted the government’s policy-making quarters to discuss their demands or take any new initiatives to earn industrial status for this sector yet.

Along with the brands those founded the local fashion industry in Bangladesh and those who helped that make it this far, many designer labels are also facing generation-crisis right now. Is that what’s causing them to waver?

The local fashion industry of Bangladesh was established even before the RMG industry here. It was launched with the establishment of ‘Nipun’ back in 1973. But even in all these years, the local fashion industry neither had any proper direction nor a solid foundation. But, now is the perfect time to set this industry on a proper foundation.

Because this mass uprising has awakened patriotism and an interest has been created towards local merchandise. Plus, initiatives like ‘Amader Ponne Amader Uthshob’ or ‘Buylocal’ are gaining importance. So, this is the right time to utilise this trend. Otherwise this occasion will just go in vain. Then there will be nothing to do but wait for the next break. By that time, the industry will fall quite far behind.

Designers ‘Fashion Design Council of Bangladesh (FDCB)’ and ‘Fashion Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (FEAB)’ can take the lead in this regard. Designers and brands inside and outside of different associations can join them.

Looking through a broader lens, the objective is the same for all and that is encouraging customers to use local merchandise while resisting the invasion of foreign fashion items. Alongside shaping country’s fashion industry after a real industry by taking all kinds of effective and emergency measures.

Fashion enthusiasts expected some sort of initiative from top entrepreneurs of this industry at this time followed by the change of power. It is disheartening that there has been nothing of that sort. Meanwhile, many of the established brands have tried to maintain the liquidity flow through discounts. That initiative is on. Some fashion brands reported that they have had great responses to these discounts.

However, it’s a matter of hope that the entrepreneurial fair ‘Anondo Uthan’ has made history as the first official event in the fashion industry of Bangladesh during the post-mass uprising period. The courage and goodwill of the organisers not only made this event a success, but also brought immense relief to the entrepreneurs dependent on e-commerce and f-commerce.

On the other hand, customers interested in local products found the fun of freedom. At least this two-day event has been able to shake up the continued trend of promoting foreign products to some extent in this crisis moment.

[Photo: Aarong, Arka, Haal Fashion and correspondent's personal archive.]

*This article appeared in the online edition of haal.fashion and has been rewritten for Prothom Alo English edition by Nourin Ahmed Monisha.