According to garment industry executives, the Walt Disney Company has chosen to resume manufacture of branded items in Bangladesh after more than eight years of pulling out of facilities in the nation.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) welcomed the decision and aimed to attract orders worth more than $500 million in the future.
Disney has stated that it would consider allowing future production in Bangladesh if manufacturers agreed to join with the Better Work programme. Following the fire at Tazreen Fashion in November 2012, which killed 112 RMG workers, and the Rana Plaza Building collapse, which killed over 1,100 people, Walt Disney ceased manufacturing in Bangladeshi companies in May 2013.
Disney has declared that Bangladesh will be reinstated as an authorised sourcing country with ILS (International Labor Standard) checks. It is an acknowledgement of the industry’s all-out development and change, notably in the areas of worker safety, social standards, and environmental sustainability.
In a recent survey, the Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions company “QIMA” classified Bangladesh as the second highest Ethical Manufacturing nation.
The RMG sector in Bangladesh has made extraordinary efforts and investments to assure fire, electrical, and structural integrity. According to Faruque, the government, ILO, worldwide brands, manufacturers, and global unions all work together in a transparent manner. Bangladesh has the most LEED green factories in the world, with 144 LEED certified by the USGBC, 41 of which are platinum.
