BGMEA president clarifies media report on 'apparel ban'

Any attempt to generalise incidents on the industry and the country at large is unacceptable, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said, clarifying a media report.

The news mentions technical glitches such as choking and ingestion hazard found in specific product items for babies sourced and retailed by certain brands in specific countries.

"As the news report mentions about 12 countries withdrawing or recalling apparel made in Bangladesh, there is no reference to such a claim, and we could not trace any evidence in its support," he said.

"We feel the urge to share this clarification so that misrepresentation of the facts is not repeated,' said the BGMEA chief.

He also clarified the reference to the OECD which was mentioned in the news report.

The OECD maintains a "Global portal on product recalls" and the OECD members' product recall notices are listed in the portal.

Product recall for any valid reason is a standard practice and there are hundreds of such recalls listed in the OECD website as of today, said the BGMEA President.

Furthermore, the OECD website mentions "Health Canada recalled more than 200,000 George Brand Sleepers on Wednesday for posing a risk of choking and ingestion".

The recall of the product, sold at Wal-Mart, is for sizes 0-5T and affects two styles for boys and two for girls.

Zipper pulls and foot grips of the sleepers may eventually separate after frequent washing, leading to choking and ingestion hazards, the agency said, adding it has not received any reports of injury in Canada."

"Therefore, the products were recalled due to certain risk of hazard, which is not the mistake of the Bangladeshi manufacturer. Every product made in Bangladesh must pass through a stringent quality control process and laboratory tests including those of consumer health and safety," he said.

All exportable products must meet the standards of the buyers and relevant legal requirements of the export markets.

Any product failing to comply with these health and safety requirements are usually rejected by buyers or denied entrance at the destination port.

"So any misinterpretation like 'apparel made in Bangladesh is banned in the mentioned countries' is false," Hassan said.

The alleged products were shipped from Bangladesh in early 2022 and were retailed in Canada from November 2022 to June 2023.

The product recall notice of Health Canada also mentions that "As of September 21, 2023, the company has not received any reports of incidents or injuries in Canada".

"I hope this statement of clarification will help all to clear any confusion on this matter and not to be misguided," said the BGMEA Chief.