According to the latest report, US-based fashion companies have ranked Bangladesh as the most competitive country in terms of product prices among the world’s apparel-manufacturing destinations even if surprisingly, despite a majority of participants expressing a decline in sourcing from China, none were willing to do the same from Bangladesh.
The ‘2023 Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study,’ jointly conducted by the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and the University of Delaware reportedly sheds light on the changing dynamics in apparel sourcing. The report reveals that the social and labour compliance risks associated with sourcing from Bangladesh have decreased over the past two years, although some concerns still persist.
On the other hand, the study highlights growing social and labour compliance risks associated with sourcing from China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Issues such as “forced labour,” high raw-material sourcing from China, and political instability in Vietnam and Cambodia are causing concern for the fashion industry.
The survey polled executives from 30 leading fashion brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers, including some of the largest names in the industry even if Bangladesh received the highest rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 for product price competitiveness, while Vietnam’s rating declined from 3.8 to 3.5 in 2023.
