Your T-shirt was probably made in Bangladesh. Here is why

Look at the label inside a plain cotton T-shirt bought in London, Berlin or Toronto. It may well say “Made in Bangladesh”. Here is how big that trade is, what else Bangladesh sells, and where the limits are for a small brand.

How much of Bangladesh’s trade is clothing?

Bangladesh’s financial year runs from July to June, so “FY2025-26” means July 2025 to June 2026. In that year the country exported $48.0 billion of goods. Ready-made garments, often shortened to RMG, earned $38.70 billion of that, about 80%. RMG means finished clothing, not fabric or yarn. The figures come from Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

The trade is huge, but it is not growing fast. Total exports fell 0.58% and garments fell 1.64% compared with FY2024-25.

Worldwide, Bangladesh was the second-largest clothing exporter in 2025, with 6.76% of world clothing exports, behind China. Vietnam was close behind at 6.53%.

Which clothes does Bangladesh make best?

Bangladesh is strongest in simple cotton products made in very large volumes:

• Cotton T-shirts. In 2025 Bangladesh supplied 61% of the cotton T-shirts the EU imported, at an average of $2.06 a shirt.
• Knitwear. Knitted clothing such as T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts and hoodies earned $21.15 billion in FY2024-25.
• Denim. In 2025 Bangladesh was the number one denim supplier to both the US and the EU.

It is weaker in synthetic and sports clothing. Cambodia and Vietnam took more of China’s lost clothing share than Bangladesh did, partly because Bangladesh has limited capacity in man-made fibres.

Who buys from Bangladesh, and why?

The US was the largest single market in FY2025-26, buying $9.05 billion of goods, followed by Germany and the UK. Canada imported $1.41 billion of clothing from Bangladesh in 2024, which made Bangladesh its third-largest supplier.

Price is one reason. Duty is another. Bangladesh is on the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia let almost all goods from Bangladesh in with zero import duty. The US does not. Since 24 July 2026, a cotton T-shirt from Bangladesh pays about 26.5% US duty. We explain price, wages and duty in detail in why a T-shirt from Bangladesh costs about $2.

That duty-free access has a date on it. Leaving the LDC list is called “LDC graduation”, and Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate on 24 November 2026. It has asked the UN to delay this to 2029. As of 14 October 2026, no decision had been published. Even after graduation, the EU keeps duty-free access to at least the end of 2029.

What else does Bangladesh export?

Clothing dominates. The other trades are much smaller, and some are shrinking. All figures are for FY2025-26.

Product group	Export earnings	Change on the year before
Ready-made garments	$38.70 billion	−1.64%
Leather and leather products	$1.23 billion	+7.09%
Agricultural products	$975.39 million	−1.34%
Jute and jute goods	$883.69 million	+7.75%
Handicrafts	$32.13 million	−15%

Mangoes, vegetables and spices make good stories, but agriculture is only about 2% of all exports. Bangladesh even imports about 90% of the spices it uses. Jute is Bangladesh’s own fibre, yet most of it still leaves as yarn, sacks and raw fibre rather than finished products. Our guide to jute exports explains that gap.

What are the catches for a small brand?

Each advantage comes with a limit:

• Imported inputs. Bangladesh imports much of its fabric and yarn from China and India. So the real minimum order is often set by the fabric mill, not the sewing floor.
• Minimum orders. The minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest order a factory will accept. One factory owner says most Bangladeshi firms typically require at least 500 pieces for a startup (2021).
• Lead times. Customs, port and unrest problems can stretch a 90-day delivery to 120–140 days (2025).
• Energy. A gas shortage in July–August 2026 cut output by 70–90% in the Narsingdi textile cluster.
• Middlemen. One industry leader estimates that about 70% of factory orders go through buying houses (2025). Buying houses are local firms that place foreign orders with factories. The “factory” you find online may be one of them. Our five checks before paying a deposit show how to tell.

What this means for your order

If you sell cotton basics in the UK, the EU, Canada or Australia, Bangladesh belongs on your shortlist because of price and duty. Plan for minimums of around 500 pieces at mainstream factories, 90 to 140 days from order to delivery, and checks on who really makes your goods. Loom & Harvest does factory checks, sample coordination and inspections for fixed fees; you can tell us about your product.