Source: The Business of Fashion
Bangladesh's $40 billion garment industry—which supplies major Western brands—faces production shutdowns as workers' purchasing power erodes faster than nominal wages can keep pace, particularly around food inflation. The model of outsourcing to low-cost labor markets depends on political stability and worker compliance. Both are fracturing as workers recognize their wages have become economically insufficient even by developing-world standards. Brands face immediate sourcing disruption and a harder long-term choice: accept margin compression through higher wages or diversify production to other countries. Neither option is reversible at scale.