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Why the garment workers of Bangladesh are feeling poorer than ever

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Why the garment workers of Bangladesh are feeling poorer than ever


Ayesha Begum is working hard on her sewing machine. Her slender fingers glide the needle along the jeans she is piecing together, sewing on pockets before passing the pants to the next garment worker. It’s for the international clothing chain, Zara. The jeans will sell for around $50 each. She handles around 90 pairs an hour and earns $134 a month.

“I can’t get by on what I earn,” she says, “I have to pay for my son’s schooling, I have to pay rent, I have to look after my mother and my parents-in-law. It’s just not enough.” 

Begum, 26, lives in the town of Gazipur, a few hours north of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. She and her husband work at Beximco, one of the largest garment factories in the country, employing 23,000 workers. But even with their combined income, they find it hard to make ends meet.

Begum one of four million garment workers in Bangladesh making clothes for American and European markets – brands such as Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Zara and others. Zara did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment on this story.

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Ayesha Begum, in the foreground, is a garment worker in Bangladesh. She sews pockets on about 90 pairs of jeans an hour. The jeans will sell for about $50 each. She earns $134 a month.

Bangladesh is the second largest export of readymade garments in the world after China, with 4,000 or so garment factories that generated $47 billion in revenue last year.

The country’s garment workers have always been paid low wages, but now they’re facing a triple-barreled threat. Western buyers are paying less for the clothes, while food prices in the country have gone up by around 10% since last year.

Khaled Shahrior, a manager at Beximco, says retailers aren’t concerned with paying more for garments to address the increased costs most local factories are bearing. 

“They don’t bother about everyday inflation and food prices and everything,” he says, “they should have that accountability.”

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Politics has an impact

Added to this, the industry has also suffered after a wave of political unrest. In August, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a student uprising. At least four factories were set on fire, including Beximco, after the factory owners were accused of having close ties with Hasina and her government.

The instability has resulted in a loss of business for the industry as some brands have taken their business to other countries.

Mushfiq Mobarak, professor of economics at Yale University, says those brands are, in fact, now paying higher prices.

“In those other countries they’re actually paying around 20% more,” he says, “so that suggests that they can afford to pay, it’s just that when they’re sourcing from Bangladesh, they’re not willing to.”

Union leaders and workers hope the recent political changes will lead to improvements in their conditions.

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T-shirts sell for less

But at the moment, it’s harder than ever for garment workers like Begum to get by.

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the average price American retailers paid two years ago for a cotton t-shirt made in Bangladesh was $1.83. This year, it’s $1.65 – nearly a 10% drop.

One reason is increased competition among factories in Bangladesh to sell their wares, so prices are dropping.

At the same time, the country is experiencing a wave of inflation that has meant greater expenses for the workers in their daily lives — and for factories as well.

Economist and nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus is serving as the chief adviser for Bangladesh’s caretaker government.

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Mobarak says that Yunus has an opportunity to use his influence to protect workers’ rights.

“He could use his voice effectively to bring international buyers to the table and help them recognize their ethical obligations toward poor Bangladeshi workers,” he says.

So far, Yunus has not publicly addressed this issue.

They’re protesting

Meanwhile, since the uprising, some garment workers have been protesting for higher pay.

Union leader Kalpana Akter says a raise in the minimum wage to 12,500 taka ($104) last year – up from 8,000 taka ($69) – didn’t go far enough. And that there isn’t universal compliance.

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“It is not enforced in many factories.” she says.

Even those who make slightly more than minimum wage are struggling.

Iti khatun, 44, who has been a garment worker for 22 years, earns $126 a month, sometimes more if overtime is available.

She pays $25 a month for rent and household bills such as gas and electricity.

She lives in a dimly lit windowless room in a large, crumbling building and shares a bathroom and kitchen with a dozen other residents.

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Another $30 goes toward her 18-year-old son’s schooling. She spends the rest on food, but with one kilo of rice — 2.2 pounds — costing as much as a dollar, she has to stick to a basic diet.

“Meat costs 6 dollars a kilo,” says Khatun. “If I eat meat, it will be too difficult for me to budget for the rest of the month.”

And she’s aware of the irony that she could never afford the clothes she makes.

Mobarak says Western consumers need to be more aware of the impact of their shopping habits.

“They need to understand the decisions they make,” he says, “such as going to another retailer to chase lower prices, ultimately will have an effect on the wages paid to the workers who produce those garments.”

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NPR contacted the Ministry of Labour and the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which represents the factories, for comment but got no response.

Begum, the 26-year-old who sews pockets on jeans, has a simple wish: “If I could earn a bit more money I could plan for my son’s future. I’d be able to save, to live better, eat better. Even 3,000 taka [$25] more a month would make a big difference.”

Shamim Chowdhury is a London-based freelance journalist and writer. She spent six weeks in Bangladesh following the recent student uprising.

 

Copyright 2024 NPR

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage


A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million. 

Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic. 

It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty

“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”

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MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse

The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors. 

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The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch. 

The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”

MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test

There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow. 

Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said. 



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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion


Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.

In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.

As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.

The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.

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Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.

Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”

After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.

Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.

In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.

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First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.

Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.

Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.

Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.

If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition


For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.

That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.

So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.

It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.

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But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.

Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine

Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.

Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.

Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.

There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.

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Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter

While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.

Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.

All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.

TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine

Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.

This list was updated in March of 2026

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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine

Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!

Gallery Credit: Getty Images





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