Bangladesh Stitches Clothes for the Whole World But Forgot Some of Its Own People.

17-Oct-2026

Bangladesh Stitches Clothes for the Whole World But Forgot Some of Its Own People.

Think about the last time you got dressed. Probably zero brain cells were involved. Now imagine the same routine taking ten extra minutes or needing another person or just feeling like wearing sandpaper. That is daily life for many people with disabilities and sensory sensitivities. A recent Business Standard feature asks why Bangladesh makes clothes for the world but not for everyone at home. The country is one of the biggest garment makers on the planet yet its domestic adaptive fashion market is almost empty. Families and neighbourhood tailors usually alter regular clothes while brands stay out of it.

Adaptive fashion is not hospital wear or some niche costume. It is regular clothing designed so dressing feels easier and more comfortable for people with disabilities or chronic illness or temporary injuries. Think magnetic closures instead of tiny buttons and trousers cut to sit right on a wheelchair user and seams smooth enough for sensitive skin. The global market was valued at around 1.53 billion dollars in 2025 according to Grand View Research and the World Health Organization says roughly one in six people worldwide lives with a disability. That is not a niche. That is a crowd. Designer Tania Afroz tried adaptive pieces in Dhaka back in 2022 including a gender neutral flight suit but there is little sign it grew into a movement.

Then there is Ramisa Rahman Tanha a fashion design graduate who chose adaptive clothing for her final project after watching a cousin with autism and another child struggle with clothes. A tag on the neck or a loose thread or a zipper can feel unbearable. As a psychology student this is where I sat up straight. Clothing is basically a second skin you cannot escape all day and if a child is uncomfortable they may struggle to focus in class. So a seam can quietly shape learning. She also points out that clothing for autism is not the same as clothing for physical disability so one size fits all adaptive wear will not work.

So why the gap. Tanha names awareness first because parents may take time to accept a diagnosis and may read a child refusing clothes as bad behaviour instead of a reaction to fabric. Demand stays invisible because empty shelves mean nobody thinks to ask. Supply is the third problem since specialised fabrics are hard to source and there is barely any research on textures and fastenings. Real adaptive design needs doctors and therapists and caregivers and disabled people in the room. Student Taiyeba Abedin Wafa of ESMOD Paris says she never met the term in her coursework and points to Decathlon and Tommy Hilfiger and Nike FlyEase as proof that mainstream names can do it.

My take is that this is a classic fashion blind spot. We obsess over trends and drops while ignoring who gets left out of the fitting room and I honestly wonder how many Indian labels have even tried. The fix does not need a revolution. One retailer can launch a small accessible line and a fashion school can add one adaptive design brief and a manufacturer can test a small local run. What is missing is the will. Fashion loves saying it is for everyone. Maybe it is time the clothes agreed.

-Devangshu Purohit

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