Climate change is quietly eroding Bangladesh's garment industry's efficiency, with rising heat in factories diminishing worker output, new research shows. The study, titled “Global Value Chains and Climate Change Governance: Garment Producers' Futures,” identifies excessive ambient temperatures inside production halls as a key obstacle to social upgrading and overall productivity.
Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan, a senior research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), collaborated with Rachel Alexander on this work and presented the findings at the Annual BIDS Conference on Development in Dhaka.
The research highlights a growing trend: climate refugees increasingly joining the garment workforce. As their numbers swell, the potential for wage pressures grows, potentially depressing earnings for some workers.
Additionally, the report cautions that climate-related strains could raise the risk of gender-based violence and harassment as productivity declines and socio-economic vulnerability intensifies.
Globally, the garment sector remains a heavy emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), releasing between 1.025 and 3.29 billion tonnes of CO2e, which accounts for roughly 2% to 7% of total global emissions. The study identifies fossil-fuel–based energy across all stages of apparel production as the primary source of these emissions, with significant contributions from cotton farming inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) and polyester production. Within manufacturing, sewing machines, assembly lines, and HVAC systems also contribute notably to emissions.
The study suggests that efforts to cut emissions could spur factory-level environmental improvements, though the transition to green energy in Bangladesh proceeds slowly. The government has pledged that by 2041 at least 30% of electricity will come from renewable sources, yet data from 2019 show renewables providing just 1.4% of the country’s electricity. Factories rely almost entirely on the national grid, which the study argues must be green to lift the environmental performance of the sector.
In policy terms, the Industry Policy 2022 promotes cleaner industrial practices by supporting effluent treatment plants, central effluent treatment plants, and cleaner development management to curb greenhouse gases. However, producers face high costs, limited access to financing, technical hurdles, and insufficient information and equipment, the study notes.
A separate session at the event examined wage patterns among manufacturing workers. Mahmudul Hasan of BIDS found that unionized workers consistently earn higher wages across various models. Even after controlling for multiple factors, unionization remains a strong predictor of higher pay. For garment workers specifically, wages are 19% to 22% higher due to stronger compliance, formal structures, and higher skill intensity. Yet, when characteristics and compliance are fully accounted for, there is no significant wage gap between unionized and non-unionized garment workers.
Within the RMG sector, unions advocate for both unionized and non-unionized staff. Spillover effects and compliance norms appear to lift garment workers’ wages above those in non-RMG industries. Overall, unionized RMG workers earn substantially more than both non-unionized RMG workers and workers in other sectors, according to the study. About 11.35% of manufacturing workers are unionized, earning roughly 10% more than their non-unionized peers, a gap that may reflect stronger compliance, more effective unions, formal structures, and higher skill demands in RMG.
A third study looked at technology adoption and productivity across sectors. Kazi Zubair Hossain reported that garment sector productivity growth averaged 4.19% annually from 2014 to 2023, driven by technological improvements. Jackets manufacturing led growth at 6.59% per year, followed by knit-lingerie at 6.43% and sweaters at 6.05%. Home textiles rose 5.58%, and T-shirts 4.39%. In comparison, woven shirts grew 3%, woven trousers 1.15%, and denim 1.81% over the same period. The session was moderated by Mohammad Yunus, BIDS’ Research Director.
