Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in Asia with a population of approx. 160 million. The sturdy annual economic growth of 6.2 % between 2009 and 2013 has mainly been due to the rapid development of the ready-made garment (RMG) sector of the textile industry, which accounts for 78 % of the export income and is the largest formal employer in Bangladesh. The main reason for Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the RMG sector has been its very low wage level. Yet the low productivity, low skill level as well as the notoriously poor working conditions are now bottlenecks for further growth in the industry. Responding to increased consumer pressure most international brands and buyers now have codes of conduct on social and environmental minimum standards and demand compliance from their Bangladeshi suppliers. This is posing a challenge to the industry.
The governments of Bangladesh and Germany commissioned the Promotion of the Social and Environmental Standards Programme (PSES since 2011, formerly, i.e. since 2006, ‘PROGRES’), which aims at improving social, environmental and production standards in the RMG industry.
The “Promising Practices” series presents development cooperation programs that have implemented elements of a human rights-based approach. The individual publications describe the measures implemented by the project, its impact and lessons learned.
