Bangladesh's garment industry, a critical pillar of the country's economy, is grappling with unprecedented challenges in the wake of the protests that erupted in July 2024 against quota reforms. These protests have brought global attention to the systemic vulnerabilities within the supply chain, especially concerning how brands and their suppliers are responding to growing demands for fair wages and better working conditions.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is actively monitoring the evolving situation in Bangladesh, specifically examining how companies are addressing these disruptions, how existing purchasing practices are being upheld, and what support is being extended to suppliers and, ultimately, to the workers affected. To gain deeper insights, we conducted a survey targeting 20 international apparel brands, asking critical questions about their response to the crisis. Our analysis, including the responses and non-responses, can be found here.

Despite public commitments from many brands to uphold ethical sourcing and support their supply chains, concerning reports have emerged.

We came across a media article reporting "a group of exporters based in Tiruppur, a textile hub in southern India, said it had earned fresh orders worth $54m because of the unrest in Bangladesh. Another group based outside Delhi said it had received 15% more orders in August from Zara, a Spanish fashion firm".

In response to this development, we reached out to Inditex (Zara's parent company), inviting them to provide clarification or additional details regarding any decision to divert orders from Bangladesh to India.

Inditex has assured that "maintains its regular payments and sourcing policy which is supported by our responsible Purchasing Practices" and their "buying teams have been regularly informed on the current context in Bangladesh and the need to continue supporting the business in the country along with the importance of honoring orders terms as per our regular policy. Hence, there was no movement of orders to other markets as consequence of this situation".

Their response can be read in full below.