Different codes of conduct for different buyers and multiple audits for garment factories not only wastes time and money for organizations, but also complicates the audit process for organizations and makes compliance difficult. In order to make the industry sustainable, it is important to enact uniform codes of conduct and put together protocols for auditing factories.

In this context, a meeting was held between Colin Browne, CEO of Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition), and leaders of the BGMEA to collaborate on harmonizing protocols for developing and auditing unified codes of conduct within the apparel sector.

Under the chairmanship of BGMEA President S. M. Mannan (Kochi), Vice President Abdullah Hill Rakib, Directors Ashikur Rahman (Tuhin), Shams Mahmud, Abrar Hossain Sayem, Md Mohiuddin Rubel, and Barrister Shehrin Salam Oishee participated in the discussion.

BGMEA President called upon Cascale to take the initiative of formulating such an integrated code of conduct for the benefit of all stakeholders including buyers, manufacturers and workers worldwide. He said, without it, it will not be possible to make the industry sustainable in the long term.

The CEO of Casacle said, Bangladesh’s garment industry has made great progress but there is more to be done in the industry. By working together, BGMEA and Cascale can take joint action to make the apparel industry sustainable and achieve the common goal of bringing positive change across the supply chain, ensuring a sustainable future for the industry.

The meeting also discussed possible areas of cooperation with special emphasis on capacity building of factories, information sharing, practices and innovative solutions for further development of the industry, compliance with upcoming regulations like Due Diligence Directive and enhancing worker welfare.

Cascal is a global, not-for-profit alliance of 400 leading consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, sourcing agents, service providers, trade associations, NGOs and academic institutions, which represents every link in the global value chain for apparel, textiles, footwear, home furnishings, sports and outdoor products and bags and luggage.

In the meeting, the CEO of Cascale agreed to establish BGMEA’s commitment to the members regarding the formulation of the Code of Conduct for the members under Cascale to come forward in this regard. Both parties agreed that Cascale will provide training on the Code of Conduct at the factory level, so as to increase the capacity of the factories to comply with these issues.