Leading fashion brands are redoubling their commitments to responsible global supply chains by entering into a new Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh with global trade unions.
IndustriALL Global Union, UNI Global Union, together with brand representatives from C&A and LC Waikiki, will announce the new agreement at today’s OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct in Paris.
The agreement has so far been signed by Kmart Australia, Target Australia, Primark, H&M, Inditex (Zara), C&A, Otto, KiK, Aldi South, Aldi North, Lidl, Tchibo, LC Waikiki, Helly Hansen, Loblaw and PVH. Further brands: Esprit, Hüren, Bestseller, Wibra, Schmidt Group, N Brown Group, Specialty Fashion Group Australia and Carrefour have committed to signing.
It means that over a thousand Bangladeshi garment factories supplying signatory brands will already be covered under the new Accord. This number will grow as more brands sign.
Signatory brands of the current Accord are today meeting in Amsterdam to consider the new agreement, and it is expected that most of them will sign. IndustriALL and UNI are signatories to the new Accord, while four non-governmental organizations including the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Worker Rights Consortium will be witness signatories.
This three-year agreement builds on the achievements of the first Bangladesh Accord signed in May 2013 in response to the Rana Plaza building collapse. It continues the first Accord’s ground-breaking legally binding framework and commitment to transparency. It also adds new worker protections and ensures that many more factories will be inspected and renovated, as signatory brands add suppliers.
The Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013 claimed the lives of more than 1,100 workers, injuring 2,500 more. Six weeks later, unions, non-governmental organizations and brands announced the first Bangladesh Accord. Currently, the Accord covers more than 2.5 million workers. The new Accord goes into effect after the 2013 Accord expires in May 2018. MORE
Signatories to the 2018 Accord
A list of brands and retailers that have signed the 2018 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
