Context and Background

SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth 

• Goal 8 is about promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the worst economic crisis in decades and reversed progress towards decent work for all (United Nations, 2019)

Poor Labor & Fast Fashion in Bangladesh: Context

• The textile and clothing industries provide a single source of growth and income within Bangladesh's rapidly developing economy. Exports of textiles and garments are the principal source of foreign exchange capital. 

• In the year 2021-2022, Bangladesh exported garments worth US $42.613 billion, making it the second-largest apparel exporter in the world (Export Promotion Bureau Data, 2019).

• There are three fundamental factors which have boosted the growth of textile in Bangladesh. The country has plenty of resources, opportunities, and beneficial government policies. In Bangladesh large number of labor workers can be found. Also, natural gas and cost of energy is cheap (Export Promotion Bureau Data, 2019).

The research question this site will be referring to is to what extent does labor and work conditions in Bangladesh affect women's' humanitarian rights and how are international communities providing economic opportunities for women?, as well as our case study spotlight being Job/Labor Conditions for Women in Bangladesh. Both the case study and the research question specifically targets a marginalized group in a third world nation that is currently experiencing economic instability within the cores of it's society. From here the spotlight was set on the women population in the country of Bangladesh. The largest problems that come with women working in Bangladesh are how they're treated in current Bangladesh societal standards, the overall labor conditions the nation has at this point in time, and most importantly, how these factors affect the female working populations' physical and mental health. From here, each point described above will display the core issues with obtaining a fair wage pay by 2030, appropriately safe working conditions for the working public, and how to increase overall quality of life for marginalized groups as described under the official United Nation Sustainable Development Goals #8 (United Nations, 2019)

• Bangladesh's textile industry is facing unfavorable trade policies, internal security concerns, the higher cost of imported inputs apart from post-Covid-19 supply chain disruptions and a decline in global demand. The energy crisis in Bangladesh has increased the cost of the business in the country (Export Promotion Bureau Data, 2019).

Unfortunately, mental and physical health reports are scarce in nature, with even less reviewed investigations initiated by the Bengali Government, with the National Library of Medicine indicating "Despite limited documentation of the burden of mental disorders and challenges in improving mental healthcare, there has been no comprehensive review of the country's current mental health state at the national level" (National Library of Medicine).

National Library of Medicine 

• Since its emergence in the late 20th century, fast fashion has been a major force in the fashion industry. In 2019, the global market value of fast fashion was 36 billion U.S. dollars. Fast fashion wasn't the first major shift in the way clothes were produced and distributed (The Perspective, 2023). In precursor, 'ready-made clothes' arose in Britain during the Industrial revolution and set the stage for the current model of fast fashion (The Perspective, 2023).