Global textile companies with exposure to a key supplier, Bangladesh

The ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh is expected to impact the country's textile industry, potentially affecting global textile retailers from H&M to Zara as they head into the key festive season.

The country has been wracked by violence since July, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign on Monday (August 5) and flee the country after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on protests demanding her ouster.

The country's garment factories have been shut down indefinitely. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the garment industry accounts for 83% of the country's total export earnings.

Bangladesh was the world's third-largest apparel exporter last year after China and the European Union, according to World Trade Organization data, exporting $38.4 billion worth of clothing in 2023.

Here are some of the major retailers with a presence in Bangladesh: Swedish clothing retailer H&M sources its garments from around 1,000 factories in Bangladesh, according to a list of suppliers on the company's website. The company said on Monday it was “concerned about developments (in Bangladesh).”

Fast fashion company Zara, owned by Spain's Inditex, has 12 manufacturing clusters where 98% of its production was concentrated in 2022, according to an annual report. Bangladesh was one of the manufacturing clusters, according to the report.

The company on Monday declined to comment on the impact of the political unrest on its business.

Fast Retailing, the Japan-based company that owns the Uniqlo brand, sources garments from around 29 factories in Bangladesh.

Among U.S. apparel manufacturers, VF Corp has 49 wholly-owned facilities in Bangladesh, according to the company's website.

Levi Strauss has 33 facilities in Bangladesh, according to the company's website.