BGMEA urges for unified code of conduct for factory audits, global buyers agree in principle

Highlights:

• BGMEA says 80% of audit requirements overlap
• A unified standard would reduce pressure on factories, save resources, time, and cut costs
• Representatives say formal approval from companies, their home countries needed
• BGMEA wants improved pricing and efficiency models

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged international clothing brands to adopt a unified code of conduct for social and compliance audits, instead of each buyer imposing separate requirements on export-oriented garment factories.

The call was made during a meeting with representatives of the Buyers' Forum, a platform of global apparel buyers sourcing from Bangladesh, at the BGMEA office in Dhaka's Uttara today (3 September).

The meeting was attended by representatives of leading global brands sourcing from Bangladesh alongside BGMEA leaders, according to a press release issued by BGMEA after the meeting. Close to 40 apparel buyers participated in the meeting, including Target USA, GAP, H&M, Puma, Celio, Ralph Lauren.

BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu told The Business Standard that the buyers had expressed their willingness to work jointly on the proposal. "They said they would work together to establish a unified code of conduct for audits," he said.

According to the BGMEA, almost all export-oriented garment factories face separate social and compliance audits from different brands' representatives, focusing on workplace environment and safety issues, leading to higher costs and operational strain.

Factory owners have long complained that while audit requirements overlap in many areas, the absence of a single standard means they undergo multiple inspections for the same compliance criteria.

BGMEA has therefore been demanding a unified code of conduct for quite some time.

"About 80% of buyers' audit requirements are the same, while 20% vary," said Mahmud Hasan. "We want BGMEA and the buyers' representatives to work together to develop a unified code of conduct. This would save both time and cost."

He also gave an example from his own experience. "My factory produces for five buyers. Each of them sends a separate audit team, which increases costs and wastes time. If there were common requirements, this would not have been a problem," he said.

BGMEA Director Nafis-ud-Doula, in a presentation during the meeting, highlighted how a unified code of conduct could simplify the audit process, reduce pressure on factories, and make the industry more ethical, sustainable and responsible.

Buyers agree in principle

Several BGMEA leaders who attended the meeting said representatives of the Buyers' Forum had shown interest in the proposal and asked BGMEA to submit a formal draft.

However, they also mentioned that approval from their respective companies and countries would be required.

"In principle, the buyers said they had no objection to a unified code of conduct," the BGMEA president said. "However, they will need authorisation from their home countries. We made it clear that this is not about cartelising compliance requirements."

In the statement following the meeting, BGMEA said brand representatives had also stressed the importance of ensuring a sustainable supply chain, improving logistics, resolving issues with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and customs, creating sustainable and internationally standardised working conditions, and giving priority to environmental sustainability.

They also pointed to the potential for growth through fashion designing, recommending that BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) open a technical design section and that factories recruit young fashion designers.

According to the brands, this is one of their key expectations from Bangladeshi exporters.

BGMEA leaders, for their part, called on brands to adopt better pricing and efficiency models to make the industry more competitive and ethically stronger.