Bangladesh Clothing Factory Collapses

In the last couple of weeks (24th April) a clothing factory in Bangladesh has collapsed which is something that a lot say could have been avoided. The workers in the factory sew clothes for companies in the west, one of those being Primark.

Workers had complained about the state of the building. There were huge cracks in the building but the workers were told to ignore the cracks, continuing work as normal.

"The deaths as a result of the collapsed building in Bangladesh were a tragedy but not an accident," says Murray Worthy from the charity War on Want. He argues that the level of neglect and lack of regulation in the industry led to the disaster at the factory.

Campaigners believe that the rapid expansion of the clothing industry (stemming from issues such as fast and throw away fashion) plays a large role in what has happened.

Sam Mahers is from Labour Behind the Label and says that it's common for these factory buildings to have illegal floors added. One minister alleged that the whole building had been illegally constructed.

Labour Behind the Label is currently trying to get people to sign up to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement. This is an agreement which will include building inspections, a review of safety standards and training in workers' rights. So far the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger have signed it.

Supervisors of factories in Bangladesh monitor their staff very closely, even down to how long their toilet breaks are.

The textile industry in Bangladesh is hugely important for the company as shown in the chart below

The countries exports have increased hugely over the last 30years, mainly because of the country's cheap labour. The textile employees are among the lowest paid in the world. This is apparently the only way that Bangladesh can stay in competition with China and Vietnam.

Primark say they had "been engaged for several years with NGOs and other retailers to review the Bangladeshi industry approach to factory standards. Primark will push for this review to also include building integrity".

For many this is too late as over 400 people have died from this incident.

Companies are beginning to look more closely at their suppliers due to a number of campaigns on the issue of slavery and around factory workers. Consumers could also help push this with thinking about why a piece of clothing is so cheap? Is someone else suffering for it? It is primarily down to the companies to change the way they operate not for the consumers and most people in the UK would rather pay a higher cost for clothing than think there are people suffering for it.

Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22296645