Climate change is already impacting Bangladesh’s garment industry, and the ripple effects are broader than just hotter factories. A new study reveals that rising temperatures are lowering worker productivity, which threatens social progress in the sector and could influence wage dynamics and gender-based safety concerns.
The research, titled Global Value Chains and Climate Change Governance: Garment Producers' Futures, was conducted by Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) alongside Rachel Alexander. The findings were presented at the Annual BIDS Conference on Development in Dhaka. The study identifies excessive heat inside factories as a major obstacle to social upgrading, underscoring the need for climate-aware workplace practices as production pressures mount.
A key detail from the study is that climate refugees are increasingly joining the garment workforce. As more climate-displaced workers enter, there could be downward pressure on wages, a trend that merits close monitoring by policymakers and industry leaders alike.
The report also suggests that climate-related stresses may intensify gender-based violence and harassment in contexts where productivity dips and economic vulnerability rises, highlighting the intersection of environmental and social risks in the supply chain.
On the emissions front, the global garment industry remains a significant source of greenhouse gases, contributing between 1.025 and 3.29 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. This accounts for roughly 2% to 7% of global emissions. Fossil fuel–based energy used across all apparel production stages remains the dominant emissions driver. Emissions also stem from practices surrounding cotton farming, fertilizer and pesticide use, polyester production, and the operation of sewing machines, production lines, and climate-control systems in manufacturing facilities.
Despite calls to cut emissions, the transition to green energy in Bangladesh is slow. The government has pledged that by 2041, at least 30% of electricity will come from renewable sources, yet renewables accounted for only 1.4% of the country’s electricity in 2019. Factories relying almost exclusively on the national grid intensify the need for a greener grid to enable genuine environmental upgrades in the sector.
Bangladesh’s Industry Policy 2022 supports cleaner industrial practices by promoting effluent treatment plants, central effluent treatment facilities, and assistance for firms adopting clean development governance to reduce greenhouse gases. However, producers face significant barriers, including high costs, limited access to financing, technical constraints, and gaps in information and equipment.
Wage dynamics and unionization offer another lens on the industry’s structure. In a separate session, Mahmudul Hasan of BIDS reported that unionized workers consistently earn higher wages across multiple models, even after accounting for various factors. Specifically, garment workers show wage premiums of 19% to 22% linked to stronger compliance, formal workplace structures, and higher skill intensity. Yet, when characteristics and compliance are fully controlled, wage differences between unionized and non-unionized garment workers become statistically insignificant.
Within the RMG sector, unions help lift wages for both unionized and non-unionized staff through spillover effects and enhanced compliance norms, contributing to higher earnings relative to non-RMG sectors. Overall, about 11.35% of manufacturing workers are unionized, earning roughly 10% more than non-unionized peers. Higher wages in RMG are thus tied to better compliance, more effective unions, formal organizational structures, and greater skill demands.
A third study looked at technology adoption across industries. Kazi Zubair Hossain from BIDS reported that annual productivity growth in the garment sector averaged 4.19% from 2014 to 2023, buoyed by technological advances. Jackets manufacturing posted the strongest gains at 6.59% per year, followed by knit-lingerie at 6.43% and sweaters at 6.05%. Home textiles grew at 5.58%, and T-shirts at 4.39%. In comparison, woven shirts rose by 3%, woven trousers by 1.15%, and denim by 1.81% over the same period.
Overall, the conference highlighted the intertwined nature of climate, productivity, wages, and technology in Bangladesh’s garment sector, signaling that progress will require coordinated policy action, industry investment, and concerted efforts to accelerate the shift to greener energy and fairer labor practices.
