An Inquiry into the Rapid Growth of the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

The article examines the successful development process of the Bangladesh garment industry and explored the keys to its success by using primary data on the garment manufacturers, trading houses, and the entrepreneurs operating these enterprises. The export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh today is large not just in terms of the number of manufacturers, but also because these enterprises are large in size. During the last three decades, the export-oriented garment industry in other countries, such as the Philippines, has experienced prosperity and then a sharp decline. Global buyers fear that trade unions, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), human rights groups, and consumers' associations in developed countries may accuse them of encouraging their suppliers in developing countries to run sweatshops and use child labor. Among those who had received good training, some had sufficient financial capital to establish their own garment factories, and others became garment traders or worked for other manufacturers as managers.