Textile Industry Scenario of Bangladesh-3

Technology

It is believed that one of the major drawbacks in the Bangladesh Textile industry has been a low level of technical development, which is reflected in the low productivity in the industry.

The Waist Loom

The Waist Loom is used by the Hill Tribes only, producing characteristic tribal textiles.

The Throw-shuttle Loom
This very simple pit loom is used for Jamdani and Bonsai saris, being operated by two persons: One throwing the shuttle, and the other receiving the shuttle and throwing it back. This type of loom can also be operated by one weaver, depending on the width of the weave.

The Fly-shuttle Loom
Most of the fly-shuttle looms in Bangladesh are pit looms, even if frame looms are also available (but more expensive). The fly-shuttle pit loom is the most extensively used handloom in Bangladesh for producing a range of fabrics from superfine to common utility varieties. One person can operate it. The main products are sari, lungi, dhoti (scarf), tablecloth etc. The superfine Tangail sari is woven on this loom.



The Chittaranjan Loom/ The Semi-automatic Loom
The Chittaranjan loom is made completely of seasoned timber, and the construction is almost like a fly-shuttle frame loom with the added feature of long length cloth winding devices and an iron wheel attachment. The former mechanism facilitates the use of long warp, usually 500-600 meters, and the latter expedites the battening as well as the shuttle throwing operations. The jacquard attachment in this loom is more comfortable than in the pit frame-shuttle loom, as it is controlled by the wheel.



Huttersley Pedal Loom
This loom is made completely of steel and iron castings. The improvement of this loom over the Chittaranjan loom is that shuttle throwing, battening and shaft propulsion are done on this loom under the power of a wheel operated by pedaling, which synchronizes all the movements.

The limitation of the Huttersley Pedal Loom is that the exertion demanded of the operator is very great. This loom can be easily converted into power-loom by using an electric motor. Due to the expansion of electrification in the 1980es in the areas where this loom was being operated, almost all such looms have been converted into power-looms and no longer can be regarded as handlooms.

Capacity
Normally a pit loom weaver can make 4 yards a day. It is possible to make a sari a day that is 6 yards, on a fly-shuttle loom. On a Chittaranjan the daily output can be up to 18 yards, equaling three saris a day.

Organizational Structure

According to Latif, the weavers can be classified into four categories:

Independent weavers
This group of weavers is characterized by the ownership of both fixed (looms) and working capital (cash). However, most of the weavers have to borrow to finance their trade and are thus dependent on the fanciers, mostly yarn traders. This group is sometimes called “self-employed weavers”.



Dadan Weavers
The dadan weavers are also characterized by the ownership of looms and accessories, and have their own establishments, but they do not have working capital. They produce goods for their mohajan known as the dadan master, with the raw materials supplied by him. Dyed yarns are usually supplied by the mohajan to the weaver on a weekly basis to produce cloth of a prescribed pattern. At the end of the week, the weaver hands over the woven cloth and receives payment on a piece-rate basis, and gets fresh supplies of yarn for the coming week’s weaving.



Master weavers
The present day master weaver does not have to know weaving or come from the weaving community, he is simply a merchant. There are two types of master weavers: the first type owns the production establishments and mainly employs outside labourers. The other type does not own any production n equipment and is a true merchant, being known as dadan masters or mojohans, as described above.



Workers or karigar weavers
These weavers are simply the workers employed on a wage basis. They possess neither the looms and the accessories nor the working capital. This class of weavers is said to come mainly from the landless agricultural class and the dadan weavers. It is important to understand that weaving is considered easy work, probably because it is compared to agricultural work and rickshaw cycling.



Competition in the local market
The mill industry can influence the hand-weaving industry in two ways. It can affect the decentralized handloom industry favorably by concentrating on spinning and supplying yarn. On the other hand, large-scale mills can adversely affect the demand for traditional handlooms by expanding their supplies of cloth to the market. The small-scale power-loom industries as well as the import of cloth also play a competitive role with the handloom industry.



Export potential
Grameen Uddug has done a great deal to develop the handloom industry for export, concentrating on the so-called Grameen check fabric. The Grameen Uddog deals with 100 000 weavers, also being able to meet their credit needs, to provide an institutional infrastructure to buy yarn in bulk, have it processed, enforce quality control and marketing the fabric to the RMG industry as well as exporting it.



Mr. Latif suggests that it is possible to build forward linkages from the handloom industry to the Readymade Garment (RMG)/Clothing industry, strengthening the export potential of both industries.

Product design
“Product development makes sense only where there is a defined marketing strategy based on sound market research,” says Viand Chand. This may be so. On the other hand, market research can only answer to the known needs and wishes and has to be combined with innovative product development. Innovative product development based on solid market knowledge is the job of designers.


The general problem in Bangladeshi textile production is the small numbers of available designers. It is difficult to know how many there are, as there is no designer organization with a membership list indicating the numbers. The lack of designers also mean that whenever a designer, trained in-house, move on, there is no one of equal ability to step into the vacancy.

There are very few designers in the garment industry or in crafts with a degree in design. The ones that do have a design education are educated abroad, - many in India and some in the West. Some of the designers working in the craft businesses have an education from Dhaka Institute of Fine Arts. Although this educational background in combination with experience from the craft businesses, in many cases seem to work well, some say that a lot of people in the trade do not understand the difference between an artist and a designer, “Design is planning step by step and the artists do not know how to do that”. Others say that the creativity exists, but that the understanding of the market is lacking.

One of the first classes Jackie Corlett taught in her workshops in Bangladesh in the early 90ies tackled the similarities and differences between artists and designers. It drew some very enlightening responses, she says. Some very clearly thought design activity was some lower form of artistic life, notably those with MFAs, others could not see any difference at all at first. It was important to establish that it was not qualifications that made a designer but rather a certain outlook on life, and attitude to learning.

It seems to me that there are more fashion designers than other kinds of designers, this also being reflected in the educational system. I heard of only two product designers and both were from other countries (Germany and Australia). The level of graphic design is supposed to be comparable to the 60ies and 70ies in the Western world.



Production
It is important to understand that the Bangladeshis, both in the large mills and in the small crafts businesses, put a lot of emphasis on labor-intensive production. There is no social security system taking care of the unemployed.



Technology
The general level of technology in one of the “least-developed” countries is naturally very different from the level of technology in a developed country like Norway. The simplicity of the available technology is obvious in the handloom industry. The jute mills say that they can often use old European machinery, i.e. has Sonali bought old flax machines from France. The mills have to use machines made for other raw materials than jute, as there is no jute machinery being produced, anyway.


The DTC, the Design and Technology Center claims, that some government institutions do have jacquard looms, textile machinery and computers, but that they do not know how to utilize the equipment.

Quality
The topic of quality is regarded as a very important, and quite difficult one, by all my contacts in Bangladesh.

The distance between the rural women and the market is tremendous, and the comprehension of the term “quality” is not consistent. How can a poor rural woman comprehend the life style of well-off Westerners or the urban middle class in Bangladesh?

All the businesses and NGOes that we have spooked to, work very hard securing quality. Quality control is entered into the production process at different intervals.

These major challenges are described by some of our contacts:

The quality of the fabric itself, regarding i.e. colorfastness etc

The quality of the work, i.e. the sewing

The understanding of sizes in general and also the need for all the products in a production line to be of the same size. One of the companies commented that the buyers always want all products to be just the same as to color and size, but that this, however, is not always important to the consumer, who is only going to buy one piece, anyway.

The delivery to the buyers - Delivery can often be a problem, as there is a certain unpredictability in the service of the Bangladeshi shipping harbors.

ISO certification is not being seen as important to the small crafts businesses. This may, however, be different in the larger industries.


Creativity
Many of my informants touched upon the question of creativity, saying that it is a great problem in the Bangladeshi society that the school system does not stimulate to creativity. The children and students are taught to repeat what they are told by the teachers, not to think themselves. There is no arts or crafts being taught in the public schools. Teaching at the new design oriented institutions like the BIFT is a challenge because of the lack of creativity exposed by the students when they start their studies.


One designer said that the true creativity in the Bangladeshi society is to be seen by the very poor, who would not survive if they were not able to develop creative survival strategies.


Design
The tasks that should be undertaken by companies using design effectively include responsibilities such as:

Submitting considered schemes at a management level on how design can be integrated into the company's aims and objectives

Thinking and planning strategically how design can be placed within the company's structure to ensure optimum interaction

Recommending the use of design as a business resource to generate revenue and encourage cost reductions to benefit the company

Assessing the risk factor in new design ventures and managing innovation

Actively seeking appropriate opportunities to use designers' skills within the company

Giving guidance to designers and others when necessary, on design practice in relation to the overall design strategy

The list mentioned is not exhaustive but does show some of the crucial points, which can be put to good effect in the context of businesses in countries like Bangladesh. Obviously however certain resources are required in order to encourage these kinds of practices, most notably trained designers who are also able to manage design. This use of design as a resource in business is a long way off in Bangladesh. The consequence of a notable lack of formal design education in Bangladesh does not appear to preclude an ability to carry out job responsibilities. With an involvement of the designer at all stages of the production cycle there is a fuller understanding of the considerations necessary when actually designing a product in the initial stages. This is where designers in development situations can be in an advantageous position.