Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States
to International Standards
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The BTMA further states that maintaining compliance with international product standards has
increased productivity, resulting in lower production costs and maintaining international
competitiveness. This process has enabled the Bangladesh RMG sector to buck the global trend towards
slowing sales. Despite a sluggish global market, aggregate RMG exports registered near 4% growth
(amounting to US$ 4.99 billion) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to the
corresponding period of the preceding year. The world’s leading retailers including GAP, H & M, JC
Penny, Tesco, Walmart, Marks & Spencer, Kohl’s, and Carrefour continue to buy high volumes from the
Bangladesh RMG sector, given competitive prices and compliance with international product standards.
In fact, since 2009, PROGRESS5, a joint project of the Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce and the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) implemented by the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, has been conducting various training courses
for RMG industry representatives on topics including:
a) The EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals
(REACH), which has a notable impact on Bangladesh’s RMG sector as it requires clothing
manufacturers to identify the chemicals used in their products;
b) Profitable Environmental Management Approach (PREMA), which improves factories’ chemical
management with positive effects on health, safety, and the environment, as well as cost savings
and increased productivity due to more efficient use of chemicals; and
c) International environmental standards, such as ISO 14001, to enhance the capacity of
environmental auditors in the country.
6.2.1.1 Standards Infrastructure
Elements of the country’s national standards infrastructure include the following, mostly run by the
public sector:
a) Standards body: The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) is the National
Standards Body, as well as the only standards body in the country under the Ministry of
Industries, responsible for promulgation of mandatory and voluntary standards.
b) Metrology institute: National Metrology Laboratory (NML), under the control of the Metrology
Wing of the BSTI.
c) Testing laboratories: BSTI has accredited testing laboratories. Private testing laboratories are
also available in Bangladesh. Approximately 40 laboratories have been accredited by BSTI, but