A British newspaper bitterly criticised German retail giant Lidl recently for selling garments produced in Bangladesh at prices that were too low. Lidl recently launched a 58-piece denim collection, which includes women's jeggings priced at less than 6 pounds (around $8.60) a piece, the newspaper said in its report published on March 13.

‘Lidl is a cheap buyer. The company does not want to increase the prices. It always puts pressure on the garment makers for downward prices,’ allegedly said a supplier of garment items to Lidl in Bangladesh, seeking anonymity. It is surprising that customers in even Germany and the UK can buy a pair of denim pants at Lidl stores at prices cheaper than any store in Dhaka.

The newspaper said the campaign hit more than 600 UK stores last week, as part of Lidl's 'We Love Denim' promotion. The report pointed out that the reason the retailer could sell them so cheaply was because they were made in Bangladesh, where the minimum hourly wage for a garment worker is 23 pence, or about 48 pounds a month (roughly $69).

Lidl has made no secret of its sourcing in Bangladesh. In fact, Markus Reinken, the company's buying director, spoke last September of their plans to increase apparel orders from the Asian nation by 20 per cent because other countries had become too expensive due to higher production costs and a shortage of workers.