BGMEA and WRAP discuss Bangladesh’s business interest expansion in North America

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) leaders recently discussed Bangladesh's business interest expansion in the western hemisphere, particularly in North America.

The discussion took place during a meeting between WRAP President Avedis Seferian, and BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Vice President Miran Ali in Washington DC in the USA, reads a press statement on Wednesday.

Their talks also included ways of mutual cooperation and future engagement between BGMEA and WRAP for Bangladesh's apparel industry.

They also had discussions on how more cooperative and coordinated efforts can be made to better facilitate WRAP certification for garment factories in Bangladesh and enhance the reputation of Bangladesh as a safe and compliant source of apparel sourcing in the world.

During the meeting, Faruque highlighted the progress of Bangladesh's garment industry in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability.

He said the RMG industry of Bangladesh has earned global recognition for its unprecedented strides over the years in safety, sustainability and social compliance.

Citing a recent survey report by Hong Kong-based QIMA, he said, the report ranked Bangladesh's garment industry second in 'ethical manufacturing'.

He also said, apart from ensuring workplace safety, Bangladesh is also proud to have the highest number of green garment factories in the world with 145 factories certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

Among them, 42 are LEED platinum-rated and 91 are LEED gold-rated units. 500 more factories are in the pipeline for certification.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan sought cooperation and support from the WRAP president to portray the positive picture of the Bangladesh apparel industry internationally.