Global Fashion Brands Say to Raise Purchase Prices for Bangladesh-made Clothes

Garment workers gather along a road during a protest in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. (Photo by AFP)
Garment workers gather along a road during a protest in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. (Photo by AFP)
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Global Fashion Brands Say to Raise Purchase Prices for Bangladesh-made Clothes

Garment workers gather along a road during a protest in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. (Photo by AFP)
Garment workers gather along a road during a protest in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. (Photo by AFP)

Global fashion retailers including H&M and Gap are committed to raising purchase prices for Bangladesh-made clothing to help factories there offset higher workers' wages, a U.S.-based association representing more than 1,000 brands said.
Bangladesh is the world's biggest garments exporter after China. This week, after deadly protests between police and factory workers, the government mandated an almost 60% raise to the minimum monthly wage to 12,500 taka ($113) from December, the first increase in five years, Reuters reported.
Factory owners had said the wage hike, which comes ahead of a January general election, would eat into their profit margins by increasing costs 5-6%. Labor accounts for 10-13% of total manufacturing costs, industry estimates show.
Asked if they would raise purchase prices by the 5-6% that costs will rise, Stephen Lamar, chief executive of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), told Reuters: "Absolutely".
"As we and our members have reiterated several times now, we are committed to responsible purchasing practices to support the wage increases," Lamar said in an email.
"We also renew our pleas for the adoption of an annual minimum wage review mechanism so that Bangladeshi workers are not disadvantaged by changing macroeconomic conditions."
Low wages have helped Bangladesh build its garment industry, which employs about 4 million people. Readymade garments are a mainstay of the economy, accounting for almost 16% of GDP.
Even after the increase in minimum wage, which some workers said was too little, Bangladesh lags other regional garment manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam, where the average monthly wage is $275, and Cambodia, where it is $250, data from the International Labor Organization shows.
Last month, several members of the AAFA including Abercrombie & Fitch and Lululemon, told Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina they wanted worker wages to rise, and to take into account inflation, which is currently at 9%. Lamar also wrote to Hasina in July.
Retailers in the United States and Europe are the main buyers of Bangladesh-made clothes. Like most consumer goods retailers, fashion companies are grappling with high inventories and a slowing global economy, where shoppers in key markets are buying less as they feel the pinch.



Dior Appoints Jonathan Anderson as Design Chief for Women’s Wear and Haute Couture 

A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
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Dior Appoints Jonathan Anderson as Design Chief for Women’s Wear and Haute Couture 

A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)

Dior is appointing its menswear designer Jonathan Anderson to also head womenswear designs and haute couture, replacing Maria Grazia Chiuri and widening his role as it seeks to reignite sales, the LVMH-owned label said on Monday.

"Jonathan Anderson is one of the greatest creative talents of his generation. Its unique artistic signature will be a key asset for writing the next chapter of the Dior house's history," LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said in a statement.

The French fashion house named Anderson, 40, in April as head of menswear designs, recruiting him from smaller LVMH label Loewe.

The award-winning Irish designer generated buzz around Loewe over the decade he spent at the Spanish label, thanks to quirky designs that caught the attention and praise of fashion critics.

Signature styles under his tenure include baggy, barrel-legged jeans priced at 800 euros ($909.92) and the compact Puzzle handbag, which sells for around 3,000 euros.

Anderson, whose departure from Loewe was announced in March, is one of several new high profile designers taking over some of the world's biggest fashion labels amid a wide-sweeping industry overhaul, including Chanel and Gucci.

The sector is struggling to pull out of a prolonged slump, weighed down by China's property crisis and economic uncertainty in the United States.

Top luxury houses are betting on new design direction to help rekindle interest from shoppers, who have pulled back on fashion as prices rise.

In his new role, Anderson succeeds Chiuri, 61, who was recruited in 2016. The first female creative director at the label, Chiuri relayed feminist messages and showcased artwork at her runway shows, which featured modern renditions of house classics, including Dior's famous, nipped-waist bar jackets, adding fluidity and sometimes a sporty flair to feminine gowns.