BRIDGING SDG GAPS IN THE BANGLADESH APPAREL INDUSTRY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/myse.v12i2.4497Keywords:
Sustainable Development Goals, Environmental impact, Key challenges, Contribution, RecommendationAbstract
The purpose of the review is to explore the status of the apparel industry in Bangladesh, the gaps between this industry and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and recommendations to minimize these gaps. Despite significant progress, several key challenges pointed out the gaps with related SDGs such as low wages (SDG 1), inadequate health and safety issues (SDG 3), gender discrimination (SDG 5), poor water and waste management practices (SDG 6 & SDG 12), limited technological innovation (SDG 9), unequal distribution of profit (SDG 10), environmental impact (SDG 13,14, and 15), and partnership goals (SDG 17). The review data was collected from secondary sources by applying a systematic PRISMA review model and 67 articles have been selected from an initial poll of 387. Although the challenges must be addressed, the apparel sector’s contribution is significant and generates 85% of the country’s total export revenue. This research also highlighted the actionable recommendations to minimize the gaps between SDGs and the apparel industry in Bangladesh. The study also emphasizes collaboration among the governance, industry stakeholders, and international partners to establish a sustainable apparel sector. By addressing all these gaps, Bangladesh's apparel industry can enhance its footprint and competitiveness globally to ensure social and environmental sustainability.
References
Alamgir, F., & Banerjee, S. B. (2019). Contested compliance regimes in global production networks: Insights from the Bangladesh garment industry. Human Relations, 72(2), 272-297.
Alengebawy, A., Abdelkhalek, S. T., Qureshi, S. R., & Wang, M. Q. (2021). Heavy metals and pesticide toxicity in agricultural soil and plants: Ecological risks and human health implications. Toxics, 9(3), 42.
Aman-Ullah, A., Aziz, A., Ibrahim, H., Mehmood, W., & Abdullah Abbas, Y. (2022). The impact of job security, job satisfaction, and job embeddedness on employee retention: an empirical investigation of Pakistan’s health-care industry. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 16(6), 904-922.
Anner, M. (2020). Squeezing workers’ rights in global supply chains: Purchasing practices in the Bangladesh garment export sector in comparative perspective. Review of international political economy, 27(2), 320-347.
Ara, M. J. (2023). Silence or violence: A paradoxical perspective on Employee Voice in the Bangladeshi Readymade Garment Industry (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Newcastle, Australia).
Ashraf, H., & Prentice, R. (2019). Beyond factory safety: Labor unions, militant protest, and the accelerated ambitions of Bangladesh’s export garment industry. Dialectical Anthropology, 43(1), 93-107.
Beyers, F., & Heinrichs, H. (2020). Global partnerships for a textile transformation? A systematic literature review on inter-and transnational collaborative governance of the textile and clothing industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 261, 121131.
BGME, (2023). Pocket Export Statistics. Export Promotion Bureau. Retrieved from https://epb.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/epb.portal.gov.bd/miscellaneous_info /8405d990_9311_41c8_88df_19b340500b6c/2023-09-24-06-29-863f5241834f4be6 246cb372783329cc.pdf.
Biswas, M. K., Azad, A. K., Datta, A., Dutta, S., Roy, S., & Chopra, S. S. (2024). Navigating Sustainability through Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory: ESG Practices and Energy Shift in Bangladesh’s Textile and Readymade Garment Industries. Environmental Pollution, 345, 123392.
Cajal-Grossi, J., Macchiavello, R., & Noguera, G. (2019). International buyers' sourcing and suppliers' markups in Bangladeshi garments.
Chen, X., Memon, H. A., Wang, Y., Marriam, I., & Tebyetekerwa, M. (2021). Circular economy and sustainability of the clothing and textile industry. Materials Circular Economy, 3, 1-9.
Chowdhury, M. K. H., Siraj, M. T., Islam, N., Payel, S. B., & Biswas, D. (2023). Developing a Sustainable Environmental Management Plan: A Case Study of a Readymade Garment Factory. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Manila, Philippines.
Chowdhury, M. M. I., Rahman, S. M., Abubakar, I. R., Aina, Y. A., Hasan, M. A., & Khondaker, A. N. (2021). A review of policies and initiatives for climate change mitigation and environmental sustainability in Bangladesh. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 1133-1161.
Claire Jenns, (2023). A Declining Number of Women in Bangladesh Ready-Made-Garment Industry – Report. Just Style. Retrieved from https://www.Just-Style.Com/News/Declining-Number-Of-Women-In-Bangladesh-Ready-Made-Garment-Industry-Report/.
Datta, P. (2023). Garment Sector of Bangladesh: Vulnerabilities of Female Workers. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Sciences (Vol. 9, No. 01, pp. 63-79).
Fahim, M. H. K. (2020). A pragmatic analysis of labor standards in Compliance with ILO and Islam: Bangladesh Perspective. Beijing L. Rev., 11, 544.
Filip, B., & Filip, B. (2020). The rise of neo-liberalism and the environment: Mining, electronic waste, agri-business, livestock farming, and the clothing industry. The Rise of Neo-liberalism and the Decline of Freedom, 135-187.
Frenkel, S. J., Rahman, S., & Rahman, K. M. (2022). After Rana Plaza: Governing exploitative workplace labor regimes in Bangladeshi garment export factories. Journal of Industrial Relations, 64(2), 272-297.
Gu, Y., Nayyar, G., & Sharma, S. (2021). Gearing up for the future of manufacturing in Bangladesh. World Bank.
Gunawan, Y., Matahariza, A., & Putri, W. K. (2023). The Dark Side Of Fast Fashion: Examining The Exploitation Of Garment Workers In Bangladesh. Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, 12(3), 441-468.
Harrison, M., Tran, D. N., Pena, A., Iyengar, S., Abubakar, A. A., Hoernke, K., ... & Weinberg, J. L. (2022). Strategies to improve women’s leadership preparation for early career global health professionals: suggestions from two working groups. Annals of Global Health, 88(1).
Hasan, M. R., & Das, D. (2024). What makes the second-largest apparel-exporting nation? An in-depth analysis of competitiveness and comparative advantage in Bangladesh’s apparel industry. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal.
Hasan, R., Moore, M., & Handfield, R. (2020). Addressing social issues in commodity markets: Using cost modeling as an enabler of public policy in the Bangladeshi apparel industry. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 56(4), 25-44.
Heng, D. (2022). Southeast Asian Interconnections: Geography, Networks and Trade. Cambridge University Press.
Huda, T. (2024). The Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashions Fire: An interview with Taqbir Huda, 2024. Amnesty. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/ en/latest/campaigns/2024/06/the-rana-plaza-collapse-and-tazreen-fashions-fire-an-interview-with-taqbir-huda/.
Hussein, S. (2020). Reconciling industrialization and environmental protection for sustainable development in Bangladesh: The textile and apparel industry case.
Islam, M. A., Hunt, A., Jantan, A. H., Hashim, H., & Chong, C. W. (2020). Exploring challenges and solutions in applying green human resource management practices for the sustainable workplace in the ready‐made garment industry in Bangladesh. Business Strategy & Development, 3(3), 332-343.
Islam, M. S. (2019). Assessment of Safety Measures in the RMG Sector of Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh).
Islam, M. T., & Stringer, C. (2020). Challenges of achieving social upgrading in Bangladesh’s apparel industry. Society and Business Review, 15(2), 77-94.
Islam, M. T., Hassan, M. N., Kabir, M., Robin, M. A. H., Farabi, M. M. H., & Alauddin, M. (2022). Sustainable Development of Apparel Industry in Bangladesh: A Critical Review. Journal of Management Science & Engineering Research, 5(2), 45-62.
Jahan, N. (2024). Inequality and Discrimination against Women in the Workplace: Problems and Prospects in the RMG (Ready-Made Garments) Industry in Bangladesh (master’s thesis, Oslo Metropolitan University).
Jani, S. A., & Jatmika, S. (2023). Impact of Fast Fashion in Bangladesh: An Analysis of the Role of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 9(12), 592-605.
Kabir, H., Maple, M., Islam, M. S., & Usher, K. (2022). The paradoxical impacts of the minimum wage implementation on ready-made garment (RMG) workers: a qualitative study. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 65(2), 545-569.
Karmaker, D., Muntaha, M., Awlad, M. S. I., & Iqbal, S. (2021, December). Smart Garbage Monitoring and Alert System: An Eco-Efficient Approach towards Environmental Sustainability and Recycling. In 2021 IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer Science and Data Engineering (CSDE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Khan, T., Emon, M. M. H., & Siam, S. A. J. (2024). Impact of Green Supply Chain Practices on Sustainable Development in Bangladesh. Available at SSRN 4958443.
Khan, W. U., Ahmed, S., Dhoble, Y., & Madhav, S. (2023). A critical review of hazardous waste generation from textile industries and associated ecological impacts. Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 100(1), 100829.
Kishor, R., Purchase, D., Saratale, G. D., Saratale, R. G., Ferreira, L. F. R., Bilal, M., ... & Bhargava, R. N. (2021). Ecotoxicological and health concerns of persistent coloring pollutants of textile industry wastewater and treatment approaches for environmental safety. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(2), 105012.
Le, L. T., Nguyen, K. Q. N., Nguyen, P. T., Duong, H. C., Bui, X. T., Hoang, N. B., & Nghiem, L. D. (2022). Microfibers in laundry wastewater: Problem and solution. Science of the Total Environment, 852, 158412.
Liu, J., Liang, J., Ding, J., Zhang, G., Zeng, X., Yang, Q., ... & Gao, W. (2021). Microfiber pollution: an ongoing major environmental issue related to the sustainable development of the textile and clothing industry. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 11240-11256.
Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A., & Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Environmental and health impacts of air pollution: a review. Frontiers in public health, 8, 14.
Mia, R., Selim, M. D., Shamim, A. M., Chowdhury, M., Sultana, S., Armin, M., & Naznin, H. (2019). Review on various types of pollution problems in textile dyeing & printing industries of Bangladesh and recommendations for mitigation. Journal of Textile Engineering & Fashion Technology, 5(4), 220-226.
Murshed, M., Ahmed, Z., Alam, M. S., Mahmood, H., Rehman, A., & Dagar, V. (2021). Reinvigorating the role of clean energy transition for achieving a low-carbon economy: evidence from Bangladesh. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 67689-67710.
Nasrain, M. S. (2023). Narratives of Struggle and the Inclusion of Physically Challenged Women in the Garment Manufacturing Industries of Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation, © University of Dhaka).
Ogiemwonyi, O., Alam, M. N., Alshareef, R., Alsolamy, M., Azizan, N. A., & Mat, N. (2023). Environmental factors affecting green purchase behaviors of the consumers: Mediating role of environmental attitude. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 10, 100130.
Op den Kamp, E. (2023). The Impact of the ILO Convention No. 190 on the Garment Industry in Bangladesh.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., ... & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372.
Parvez, M. S. (2024). Environmental sustainability in Bangladesh - the role of green factories waste management.
Parvin, F., Islam, S., Akm, S. I., Urmy, Z., & Ahmed, S. (2020). A study on the solutions to environmental pollution and worker’s health problems caused by textile manufacturing operations. Biomed. J. Sci. Tech. Res, 28(4), 21831-21844.
Periyasamy, A. P., & Tehrani-Bagha, A. (2022). A review on microplastic emission from textile materials and its reduction techniques. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 199, 109901.
Peters, G., Li, M., & Lenzen, M. (2021). The need to decelerate fast fashion in a hot climate global sustainability perspective on the garment industry. Journal of cleaner production, 295, 126390.
Rahaman, M. T., Pranta, A. D., Repon, M. R., Ahmed, M. S., & Islam, T. (2024). Green Production and Consumption of Textiles and Apparel: Importance, Fabrication, Challenges and Future Prospects. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 100280.
Rahman, M., Billah, M. M., & Hack‐Polay, D. (2019). What is hindering change? Anticipating the barriers to the adoption of enzyme‐based textile processing in a developing country. Business Strategy & Development, 2(2), 137-147.
Sachidhanandham, A., & Periyasamy, A. P. (2021). Environmentally friendly wastewater treatment methods for the textile industry. In Handbook of nanomaterials and nanocomposites for energy and environmental applications (pp. 2269-2307). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Saha, K., Dey, P. K., & Papagiannaki, E. (2022). Implementing circular economy in the textile and clothing industry. In Supply chain sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises (pp. 239-276). Routledge.
Sakamoto, M., Ahmed, T., Begum, S., & Huq, H. (2019). Water pollution and the textile industry in Bangladesh: flawed corporate practices or restrictive opportunities? Sustainability, 11(7), 1951.
Sen, S., Antara, N., Sen, S., & Chowdhury, S. (2020). The Unprecedented pandemic ' COVID-19 ' affected Bangladesh apparel workers by shivering the apparel supply chain. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, 11(3), 1-20.
Shahen, M. A. (2022). The financial lives of the workers: An analysis amid coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh. ABC Journal of Advanced Research, 11(2), 71-82.
Sharmin, S., & Manan, W. A. (2022). Vulnerability in female garment workers’ lives: A qualitative study from the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. Journal of Food Security, 10(2), 61-69.
Siraj, M. T., Debnath, B., Kumar, A., Bari, A. M., Samadhiya, A., & Payel, S. B. (2023). Evaluating barriers to sustainable boiler operation in the apparel manufacturing industry: Implications for mitigating operational hazards in the emerging economies. Plos one, 18(4), e0284423.
Sobuj, M., Khan, A. M., Habib, M. A., & Islam, M. M. (2021). Factors influencing eco-friendly apparel purchase behavior of Bangladeshi young consumers: case study. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 25(2), 139-157.
Stefan, D. S., Bosomoiu, M., & Stefan, M. (2022). Methods for natural and synthetic polymers recovery from textile waste. Polymers, 14(19), 3939.
Syed, R. F., & Karim, R. (2024). Labor welfare policy, practices, and deficiencies with the ILO: evidence from the garment industry of Bangladesh. Labor History, 1-17.
Tarafder, T., & Burgess, J. (2022). Improving workers' well-being through international action: workers in the Bangladesh ready-made garment sector. In A Field Guide to Managing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in Organisations (pp. 119-131). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Uddin, M. J., Hossain, F., Fujimoto, Y., & Ahmed, J. U. (2020). Do public sector organizations ensure labor ethics? Perspectives from ethics and workplace spirituality in Bangladesh's garment sector. Public Administration and Development, 40(3), 168-178.
Uddin, M., Ullah, M. R., & Dipto, M. R. R. (2021). Assessment of the Current Working Conditions of the Garment Workers and Determining the Importance of Labor Unions for the Improvement of Working Conditions in the RMG Industry of Bangladesh. In Proceedings of the 11th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (Vol. 9).
United Nations (2024), Sustainable Development – The 17 Goals. Retrieved from https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
Usman, S., Abdull Razis, A. F., Shaari, K., Azmai, M. N. A., Saad, M. Z., Mat Isa, N., & Nazarudin, M. F. (2022). The burden of microplastic pollution and contending policies and regulations. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(11), 6773.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Myse journal is a scholarly online, open access, peer reviewed journal.
Started in June 2023, the Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0




