The celebration of “Agrajatra” - meaning Moving Forward, the annual mega event of SQ Group continued on February 20, 2019, at Celsius Unit 1, located at Mawna.

Spring, or Boshonto in Bengali, is the season of happiness, warmth, and growth, as we observe fresh buds blooming, birds chirping, animals awakening from winter hiatus, as the earth comes to life again after the gloomy winter.

Currently, Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter in the world. The country is producing apparel items for most of the globally renowned fast fashion brands in the world. A number of high street brands have flocked into the country already.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal has said effective partnership with the Dutch as well as other European buyers will facilitate Bangladesh’s apparel sector to cope with the challenges in a smarter way, reports UNB.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to India continue to skyrocket with 167 per cent growth during the first three months of fiscal 2018-19; reminding, once again, how big the neighboring market’s potential is.

The United States remained the top destination for Bangladesh’s apparel exports for the first three months of fiscal 2018-19, followed by Germany and Britain.

Bangladesh is becoming a more popular apparel sourcing destination for Western retailers thanks to the ongoing US-China trade war, said a latest survey by the Asia Inspection (AI), a Hong Kong-based global inspection and accreditation body.

The Bangladesh government has undertaken initiatives of mass reforms for going green in the existing industries in the country, including its top earning ready made garment industry, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said at a recent conference.

Vietnam and Bangladesh should make stronger efforts to translate their potential into sound cooperation in economics, trade and investment, said Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a meeting with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed in Hanoi.

One of the biggest Swedish fashion company Gina Tricot has launched their sourcing office in Dhaka on 6 September at Banani in the capital. The Swedish company has more than 2000 employees worldwide

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company known for its fast-fashion clothing, recently organized ‘Sustainability Summit 2018’ in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Day by day sustainability issues are being more popular and inevitable for the textile and apparel industry. At the same time, to achieve sustainability in all aspects, world leaders are coming forward. In this regard, the United Nations Development Program has declared the Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 global goals, which are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all

Bangladesh’s garment sector is turning into a beneficiary of the US-China trade war as American retailers are placing more work orders, but other sectors, such as jute and leather goods, are yet to see an uptick in fortunes.

India is now emerging as one of the fastest growing markets for Bangladesh’s readymade garment export, said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Indian high commissioner, yesterday.

Sweater, a sub-sector of the apparel sector, has seen a sharp growth in the last fiscal year, thanks to prolonged winter in the western world. According to latest data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the fiscal year 2017-18, Bangladesh earned $3.67 billion, which is 9.32% higher compared to the $3.36 billion it earned in FY16-17 in sweater export.

Bangladesh is on fast-track to becoming a developing nation by 2021. Having made significant progress on the key parameters of transition – Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI), Human Assets Index (HAI) and Gross National Income Per Capita (GNI) – it’s just a matter of time before the country sheds its LDC tag to join the big league of developing nations.

The government is going to set a time-bound action plan for completing remediation work in the readymade garment factories which were inspected under the government-led and International Labour Organisation-supported initiative.

Bangladesh readymade garment (RMG) industry has received huge response from international buyers by participating in a mega exposition in Canada. A total of 17 RMG factories and exporters from Bangladesh participated in the three-day event titled “Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC)”.

Bangladesh’s apparel factories have come a long way from the shoddy state they were in five years ago during the deadly Rana Plaza collapse. Now, the nation boasts of having among the most exemplary line of compliant factories around the globe.

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Tuesday said that Japan showed interest to invest more in Bangladesh especially in the textile sector.‘Japan is also interested to hire Bangladeshi people for its textile sector,’ Tofail said at a post-Japan visit press conference at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.

The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) of the clothing industry of Bangladesh is very high compared to its major global competitors like China, Vietnam and India. A report published in Mint on Monday unveiled the scenario.

The apparel industry in Bangladesh needs to adopt efficient management practices to improve productivity and increase its global competitiveness, said experts at a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Summit on “Driving Transformation in Bangladesh’s Apparel Industry” on Wednesday in Chittagong.At the event, experts said the sector today contributes to 12% of the country’s GDP and 83% of its exports.

We are extremely glad to announce that, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety (Accord) has recognized SQ Celsius Limited for successfully completing all remediation measures required from the Accord initial inspections for fire, electrical, and structural safety. Accord engineers have physically verified that all items of the corrective action plan, developed from the Accord initial inspections and approved by the Accord Chief Safety Inspector, have been correctly repaired.

The country’s export earnings from the United States (US) and European countries have registered a significant growth in the FY 2017–18 (July–June). This has marked a growth of around 8.76 per cent for apparel shipments. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows that exports to most European countries, such as the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, and Netherlands, have registered double-digit growth in the of FY 2017–18. The value of exports of readymade garments to Germany now stands at USD 5.58 billion as against USD 5.35 billion in export earnings from the US market.

We are very pleased and honored to announce that, Q Collection Pte Limited (holding company of SQ Celsius Ltd) has achieved very prestigious “Supplier Performance Top 10- Spring/Summer 2018” award by ESPRIT.

The government will not extend the tenure of Accord and Alliance as the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) is capable of running inspection and monitoring of workplace safety in garment factories, said state minister for labour and employment.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to India, a close competitor in the global markets, have seen sharp rise by 115% to $279 million in the last fiscal year. Exporters and trade analysts attributed quality and reasonable price of clothing products for the sharp rise in export earnings. In fiscal 2017-18, Bangladesh’s RMG exports to India stood at $279.19 million, up by 115% compared to $129.81 million in the FY17, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat said USA is the number one consumer of Bangladesh’s exports, especially ready-made garment (RMG) products. Bernicat praised leading apparel and garment producers in Bangladesh for choosing top-quality US cotton to produce products that are in demand throughout the world. US cotton is helping to drive growth in the RMG sector in Bangladesh, she added.

Bangladesh Sustainability Compact was reviewed in Brussels on 25 June at the fourth high-level follow-up meeting. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed demanded it while delivering his speech at the fourth high-level follow-up meeting of the Sustainability Compact entitled “Five Years after the Launch of the Sustainability Compact: Taking Stock and Staying Engaged” held at Albert Borschette Conference Centre. At the event, progress made under the Compact as well as what remains to be done were discussed.

Bangladesh exports to the United States rose by 2.60 per cent to US$ crossed 4.92 billion in the first 10 months (July-April) of the last fiscal year (FY) 2017-18 compared to same period in the previous FY, riding on the growth of the country’s readymade garment sector.The exports to the US were US$ 4.79 billion in the corresponding period of the fiscal previous FY 2016-17. The export figure represents 16.19 percent of the country’s total export earnings during the period of July-April, according to data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

We are proud to announce that SQ has won a prestigious global award from Sainsbury’s at its Suppliers Conference held in Hong Kong. We take pride for our unique approach towards developing a sustainable framework to improve living conditions of all our employees, especially the floor population.

Export earnings in April have increased by 7.11 per cent, totaling USD 2.95 billion, compared to the same month in the previous fiscal year. This marks a strong rebound of higher shipments of apparel products and registers a growth of 9.37 per cent in the first 10 months (July-April) of FY2017-18.

On the occasion of International Mother’s Day, SQ Group has celebrated in all its location. We have honored all the working mothers of the organization with a small token of appreciation and there was also a small gathering in all our locations to convey Mother’s Day greeting.

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a platform of European buyers and retailers, is going to start its work as Transition Accord from June 1 and it would continue its operation until a national body becomes fully ready to take over the responsibility of readymade garment factory safety monitoring from the buyers’ platform.

According to the Pew Research Center, Bangladeshi exporters are the highest tariff payers among the 232 exporting nations to the US as the North American country imposes substantial import taxes on apparel and footwear.

Garment makers, the country’s main export earners, yesterday sought full waiver of source tax on export receipts for three years as a helping hand as they look to hit $50 billion in shipments by 2021.At present, the tax authority collects 0.70 percent tax on total export proceeds from major export items, including garment.

Bangladesh is still a lucrative destination for sourcing low-cost garment items, coming second to only China, according to the Global Sourcing Survey-2018 by the Asia Inspection, which provides inspection services to global brands.

SQ Group has partnered with Mercer Consulting – the No. 1 HR Consulting Company in the world – to transform its organizational HR practices. To embolden and move forward with the partnership, SQ Group and Mercer Consulting signed an agreement.

The country’s apparel makers claimed on Saturday that Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector has become a role model in the world for its safe working condition due to vigorous safety initiatives taken by the entrepreneurs after the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013. ‘Rana Plaza collapse was the turning point for the country’s RMG sector and following the disaster, factory owners have been paying attention to ensure a safe working condition as well as a sustainable industry.

Majority of the garment workers in the country have been left out of the formal banking system as they are paid wages in cash, experts at a panel discussion said Thursday. They also recommended taking up pragmatic and commercially viable projects to bring the large workforce under formal banking system and improve their financial security.

Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and its allies have started a week of action urging apparel brands in Bangladesh to create safer workplace by signing the 2018 Transition Accord. The civil society campaign organized an event on Tuesday, a week ahead of five-year anniversary of Rana Plaza collapse that claimed more than 1,100 people, according to an article published on the campaign’s website.

A Workers Resource Centre (WRC) has been set up at Tongi, a garment industry hub on the outskirts of the capital, aiming to build the capacity of trade unions in the readymade garment sector. The National Coordination Committee on Workers Education (NCCWE) and the Industrial Bangladesh Council (IBC) jointly formed the platform which will help trade unions operate more effectively and provide better services to their members. The initiative is supported by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Social Dialogue and Harmonious Industrial Relations project funded by Sweden and Denmark.

On the occasion of Bengali New Year SQ has celebrated in all its premises on 15th April 2018 (Sunday). The locations were brightly decorated and all employees wore traditional clothes to celebrate the occasion.

Bangladesh garment manufacturers have called for a “commensurate adjustment” in pricing and sourcing garments from developing countries like Bangladesh. They said it (justified price) is increasingly crucial and needs to be looked at forthright by the global brands and retailers.

Iraqi businessmen are willing to import readymade garments (RMG) from Bangladesh, said Bangladesh Ambassador to Iraq Abu Maksud M Forhad.He made the observation at a courtesy call on BGMEA President Md Siddiqur Rahman at his office in the capital on Monday. BGMEA Vice President (finance) Mohammed Nasir was present at the meeting.

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) is going to allot 500 acres of land to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) for setting up a well-planned readymade garments industry park in the Mirsarai economic zone of Chittagong to increase apparel export.

Manufacturers of the country’s garment accessories on Wednesday urged the revenue authority to restrain the tax at source to 0.50 percent from 0.70 percent. The sector leaders made the proposals at a pre-budget meeting arranged by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at its auditorium in the city.

We are delighted to announce that SQ Birichina has been awarded with M&S Eco-factory Standard (Plan A). Plan A is the way of M&S to help build a sustainable future by being a business that enables their customers to have a positive impact on well-being, communities and the planet through all that they do.

Textile and garment exports are likely to miss the USD 45 billion target for 2017-18, as the industry reels under the impact of GST roll out and tariff advantages enjoyed by competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam, according to textile industry body CITI.