Learning about Sustainable Development in the Garments Industry in Bangladesh: A Research Agenda

By:
Afifa Raihana,
Dr Steve Gough
To add a paper, Login.

In the economic history of Bangladesh and also in economic scene of the Third World the success of garments export is a major positive development. An overpopulated, resource poor and politically unstable nation caught hopelessly in the poverty trap attempted a miraculous escape from poverty, not with massive foreign aid and government intervention, but with private initiative. The industry took off on a path of sustained growth, rapidly penetrating markets in many developed countries. Now with the MFA phase out Bangladesh Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector is suddenly faced with the challenges of being competitive in the global market. This has necessitated the need for learning how to be environmentally and socially compliant and contribute positively towards sustainable development. The lack of long term vision both of the government and the RMG sector has become a problem for structured formal learning.

There has been a lot of research on the garments labour issues but insignificant amount of research has been done on environmental and social sustainability of the garments industry and absolutely none on the scope of learning about sustainability in the garments sector. This paper will mainly focus on the problem and how a research can be designed to explore deeper into this issue.


Keywords: Bangladesh, Garments, Sustainable Development, Learning
Stream: Economic Sustainability
Presentation Type: 30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Afifa Raihana

Coordinator Knowledge Center, Business Enabling Environment, South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF), The World Bank Group, SEDF, The World Bank Group
Bangladesh

I come from a multidisciplinary educational background. I graduated from Dhaka University with economics major and then did my MSc from Oxford University in Environmental Change and Management. I have been working with SEDF, The World Bank Group for the past two years. Apart from the Knowledge Center and SME Toolkit Projects( information diseemination and skill development of SMEs) in Dhaka , Chittagong, Nepal and Bhutan I am also responsible for the WTO advocacy project in Bhutan. My first book on “Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh” was published in 2005. Prior to joining I have worked with United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Currently I am doing my PhD from Bath University on “ How businesses in a developing country can learn about Sustainable Development?” which brings together my diverse work experience and educational background. My passion lies in environment, and I do voluntary work to promote environmental awareness among the young generation of South Asia. I love to do nature photography, some of my photos has been displayed in National photo exhibitions.

Dr Steve Gough

University of Bath,UK
UK

Ref: S07P0062