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The readymade garment industry is believed to have created employment for some 4.0 million workers in the country, but there is no comprehensive database to support the figure.
Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) - an open apparel registry -has recently revealed that there are a total of 3,555 export-oriented RMG factories across the country that create employment for about 3.04 million workers, which is far behind the mythical number of 4.0 million.
MiB-- the supply chain disclosure effort of the first-ever digital map on RMG industry of Bangladesh-has come up with the number of export with physical visits and two years of verification and validation of those units.
Out of the 3,555 factories, some 2,720 units are affiliated with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) while the rest 836 are not associated with any of the trade bodies of the sector as of December 2024, according to the digital mapping.
The ratio of male to female garment workers now stands at 42.3:57.7, according to MiB.
Over the years, there has been another myth that 80 per cent of the garment workers are female while there is no database in this regard though both the trade bodies initiated biometric database of their respective factories' workers without a regular update of the database.
Throughout the years, the female workers' participation in the sector has gradually been declining for a number of reasons including automation, wage hike that attract more male workers in the sector, child birth and care, household responsibility and many more.
Even the non-member factories that are not part of major trade associations but still export more than 80 per cent of their production are playing a crucial role in the country's export economy.
The MiB also recorded 581 more factories that export 20 per cent to 79 per cent of their production capacity and create employment for some 33,934 workers.
Jabeer Al Sherazy, senior system development coordinator at MiB, said the mapping was started in 2017 with an initial number of 11,500 factories/facilities that had a name or assumed like a factory from outside.
Since its inception in 2017, they physically visited all the locations and verified their information, he said, adding from January 2023 to August 2024, they completed their latest update, physically visiting factories already listed in the MiB database.
Following a thorough data validation and verification process, the MiB map now features 3,555 factories as of December 2024, he said.
Some 1,659 are knitwear makers, 1,098 woven and 707 sweater makers while 420 produce both knitted and woven items.
Among these, the MiB has added 667 RMG factories across Bangladesh while removed 897 factories which it found non-operational, according to MiB impact report 2022-24.
"These updates will be crucial for stakeholders including policymakers, right based organisations and industry professionals to access reliable information for informed decision making," it said.
Through the MiB data points, one can get some 12 information like GPS location, contact information, products, memberships, social and environmental certifications, production capacity, major brands, export destinations, establishment year, nearby fire station, police station and medical centre while the ESG (environmental, social and governance) one of the major requirements to export to EU in the coming years related information are also being added.
Mr Sherazy said they will re-launch the map with redesigned website and new features this month.
When asked, Faruque Hassan, former president of BGMEA, agreed with the numbers saying they work more closely by physically visiting the locations and following up.
He, however, said despite that some factories might not be added as there is no denying the fact that still there are factories that are not willing to provide information for various reasons.
"But the dataset is realistic one than any other data," he, also the managing director of Giant Group, said.
He also noted that the trade bodies-BGMEA, BKMEA and the government should monitor it to ensure regular update of the information for sustainability.
Talking to the FE, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said industry stakeholder and government could develop a sectoral database for the country's readymade garment industry which is crucial for the country and MiB partially met the requirement with some 12 indicators of information like location, products and buyers.
There are some political aspects of not having such database-unwillingness of providing accurate number-taking advantage of undisclosed or gray area or avoiding responsibility in case of any problem or incidents occur-benefit of doubts, he said.
Explaining the importance of database, he said there were hardly any data driven discussion in time of wage fixation, mostly done by trade bodies or own position.
Sustainability of the database is important as it requires resources to regularly update the information and associations should take the responsibility with adding new and emerging issues like environment, human rights, due diligence, RBC and OECD compliances and guidelines for acceptable utilisation of the database, he noted.