Bangladesh Denim Expo amazes the market with its networking and focus on the future
More than 5000 visitors, buyers from over 46 countries in the world, 55 exhibitors from 15 countries covering the entire denim value chain, a focus on Natural Denim and discussions on the future of the sector: It was a huge success for the 5th Bangladesh Denim Expo
The key players of the continuously evolving denim market all gathered at the 5th edition of Bangladesh Denim Expo on November 8th and 9th, at the International Convention City, Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Over 5000 visitors came from USA, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Egypt, Belgium, China and UAE, including very important buyers, brand representatives, CEOs, sourcing managers, manufacturers, merchandisers and denim influencers, to participate in the interesting discussion platforms offered and to see the advanced innovations showcased by exhibitors.
The focus of this edition was Natural Denim, an issue that cannot help being at the heart of the global industry’s agenda nowadays. A strong call for responsibility came also on the business side, putting the evolution of international and Bangladeshi market under the spotlight. This choice was also reflected on the environmental friendly materials, such as bamboo, used to create stalls at the expo.
An event that continues its evolution towards internationalization, reaching a wider and wider public with each edition by hosting debates and seminars on a global scale.
International buyers and many others expressed their satisfaction to have a chance to meet exhibitors of the entire denim value chain, from fabric to washes.
This year the inaugural ceremony was attended, among other important personalities, by the German ambassador Dr Thomas Prinz and the Swedish ambassador in Bangladesh, Johan Frisell who spoke as guests of honour.
Frisell pointed out: “Bangladesh is the second largest RMG exporter in the world and it is also an emerging player in the international market. It will soon be a middle-income country and market access will also be increased. So, entrepreneurs should prepare new plans for marketplace and market regime of its RMG sector”. Dr Prinz underlined the importance of united efforts towards sustainability for the whole garment sector, efforts that Bangladesh Denim Expo is promoting, being also a non-profit organisation openly established to boost a more responsible denim culture in the country and in the world.
Another important moment of the Expo was the panel discussion “Investment in Denim Sector of Bangladesh”, held during the second day of the exhibition, that featured among its discussants Mrs. Leoni Cuelenaere, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Bangladesh and Mrs. Sophie Aubert, Honourable and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, Embassy of France in Dhaka, as well as Mr. Roger Hubert, Regional Head for Bangladesh & Pakistan of H&M/Puls Trading Far East Ltd.
During the two-day exhibition multiple special events of live demonstration were held, including natural indigo dye by Living Blue which frames & processes natural indigo known as “Bengal Indigo”, and hand loom machines for selvage denim & hand scraping.
Moreover, seminars and discussion panels, that have always been one of the major drivers for the exhibition, marked a significant improvement for this 5th edition.
Two knowledge sessions on “Improving the unit economics of RMG Manufacturing industry” & “Choose the right way of denim washing”, three major panel discussions – “USD 50 BILLION BY 2021: ‘Innovation’ The Strategic Business Driver”, “BRANDING Bangladesh Through Denim” & “Investment in Denim Sector of Bangladesh” – and one technical workshop on “Total Quality Assurance: A Value Proposition” were held.
The overall discussion highlighted several main objectives to focus on over the next few years: the urge for the country to establish bilateral negotiation with major markets such as Europe, Canada and USA, the necessity in continuing the improvements on factory safety made in recent years and the need to think about a product that should be socially and environmentally compliant to create a unique value chain in the country.
Mr. Mostafiz Uddin, Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo, declares: “Denim will never go away. It is in fashion regardless of its shape, design and style. The best way to stimulate denim business is to analyse and understand future trends. One of them is to add more ecological and sustainable thinking to the way we produce, and we can definitely plan and achieve sustainable solutions that benefit our business as well”.