Bangladesh Textile Industry Case Study

1. From an economic perspective, was the shift to a free trade regime in the textile industry good for Bangladesh?

The shift to a free trade regime in the textile industry was good for Bangladesh. Bangladesh prospered when other economies were not t doing so well. The textile industry greatly increased causing it to become a major reason as to why the economic has continued to increase. Increasingly bring in billions and billions from exports between 2006 to 2012 like the book mentions.

2. Economically who benefits when retailers in Europe and the United States source textiles from low-wage countries such as Bangladesh? Who might lose? Do the gains outweigh the losses?

Economically the low-wage countries and the country they conduct business

What are the causes of the weak safety record of the Bangladesh garment industry? Do Western companies that import garments from Bangladesh bear any responsibility for what happened at the Rana Plaza and other workplace accidents? The causes of the weak safety record of the Bangladesh garment industry are because of Western companies that import garments from Bangladesh and the government. The government could utilize their power to improve the conditions in Bangladesh, but instead they sit around and do nothing about it. Additionally, Western companies and others like it that chose to conduct business with industries like in Bangladesh seek to produce their products effectively and efficiently. Therefore, poor work conditions should be expected because those companies should know the situation those industries is in because their country is poor. Nevertheless, Western company’s do bear responsibility for what happened at the Rana Plaza along with other workplace

What do you think about Walt Disney’s decision not to purchase merchandise from Bangladesh? Is this an appropriate way of dealing with the problem?

Walt Disney has a right not to conduct business with Bangladesh. However, I do not think their way of dealing with the problem is appropriate because it does not help to fix it. Walt Disney had to have known that the working conditions were not up to standard, but they conducted business with Bangladesh anyway. Therefore, their decision to bail and not help to fix the problem makes them look bad.

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6. What do you think of Walmart’s approach to this problem? Is the company doing enough? What else could it do? I applaud Walmart for not bailing on Bangladesh like the one Walt Disney did. Therefore, I think their approach to the problem is fine. By Walmart, hiring inspectors it helps to improve working conditions and ensure the safety of the factory workers. Walmart also accepted the fact that the value of their products may increase due to the situation that Bangladesh is in such as the renovations. The book mentions that Walmart’s main reason for not wanting to sign the agreement was the fact that it was legally binding, so I think Walmart could just give Bangladesh whatever sum they want without signing an agreement to