DHAKA, Bangladesh — For sewing machine operator Ruma Aktar, a single everyday item has changed the way she works and improved her quality of life: a pair of reading glasses.
Aktar’s job at a Bangladesh garment factory is intense, with workers expected to complete thousands of garments each day. Accuracy is critical — even minor errors can slow down an entire production line or lead to rejected pieces. Aktar says her new glasses have allowed her to thread needles much more quickly, while also eliminating the headaches and eye strain she once dealt with regularly.
“Before I got the glasses, it took me a long time to thread the needle. Now I can thread it in just a short time. I make far fewer alterations than before,” she said.
Bangladesh is home to the world’s second-largest garment industry, trailing only China. Some factory owners there are now actively working to get more glasses into the hands of their employees as a way to improve output. The nation’s garment sector accounts for roughly 11% of its gross domestic product and provides jobs for approximately 4 million people.
VisionSpring, a global nonprofit that works to make affordable eyewear available in lower-income countries, estimates that about one in three garment workers in Bangladesh need glasses but currently go without them.
The organization has been distributing pairs costing less than ten dollars each through a partnership with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a group that represents factory owners across the country.
Ella Gudwin, chief executive of VisionSpring, said the impact was felt almost immediately. Workers were better equipped to hit quality and production targets, and better eyesight helped cut down on common mistakes like skipped stitches, uneven hems, and buttons sewn in the wrong place — reducing the need to redo work.
Fahima Akhter, a director at Bangladeshi garment company Masco Group, said factory managers initially had no idea how widespread the vision problems were, largely because workers rarely spoke up about them. She said Masco Group has now screened around 5,000 employees, with approximately 30% of them receiving glasses as a result.
Akhter added that the company intends to expand the screening program to cover its remaining workforce of more than 20,000 people.
“We don’t consider it a cost. It is an investment. If the workers are working with better vision, their productivity and workplace safety will improve, and eventually this will translate into better productivity and profit for the company,” she said.
A randomized controlled research trial conducted in India, which was co-authored by Gudwin, found that sewing machine operators who were given reading glasses boosted their productivity by 6% while also making fewer errors. The study, published in April in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, calculated that every dollar spent on vision screening and glasses generated $3.37 in productivity gains over a 12-week period.
The research also estimated that rolling out similar programs across the global garment and textile industry could produce the equivalent of $27 billion in additional output each year.
Gudwin noted that vision correction has historically been overlooked in workplace settings because glasses were viewed as a luxury rather than a necessary tool. She said many factory workers begin experiencing age-related vision decline in their late 30s and early 40s, but often put off getting help because they assume eyewear is too expensive.
Bringing eye screenings directly into the factory, Gudwin said, eliminates those obstacles entirely.
Masco Group’s Akhter said she believes vision screening should become a standard benefit across Bangladesh’s entire garment sector.
“Having a clear vision is not a luxury, it is a necessity now,” she said.
