17 October, 2013More than 100 global brands have now signed the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, driven by IndustriALL and UNI in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza building collapse six months ago.
Woolworths Australia, GEBRA, Wünsche Group of Germany, became the latest brands to sign the Accord, which aims to make the garment industry safe and sustainable for years to come.
The signatory brands have committed to making the changes garment workers need to improve factory safety. The Accord, a broad coalition of industry-leading brands with IndustriALL Global Union and UNI, covers more than 1,600 factories and over 2 million workers in Bangladesh.
IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina said, “This milestone comes as the world’s attention focuses once again on Bangladesh. Next week IndustriALL and UNI will mark the six month anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. The strength of the Accord is growing and we, and all brand signatories, are committed to improving safety in Bangladesh’s factories.”
All companies serious about conditions in their supply chain are joining this broad alliance to change the game for factory safety in Bangladesh.
UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings added, “We are delighted to reach this landmark figure. With this support we can make a difference on the ground. We are sending a strong message to all the companies that stand outside of the Accord: sign up and get engaged.”
The news came as a team from IndustriALL and UNI arrived in Bangladesh to prepare for the next phase of the implementation of the Accord. High-level talks involving unions, brands, government and employers will coincide with a week of action on safety and working conditions ahead of the six month anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse on 24th October.
Various public demonstrations are planned including by those yet to find and identify the bodies of loved-ones lost at Rana Plaza. Another will see families calling for a fair compensation settlement as compensation negotiations continue on the international level, chaired by the ILO, convened by IndustriALL and supported by UNI.
Here is the updated list of brands which have signed up to the Bangladesh Safety Accord:
Abercrombie & Fitch
Ahlens
Aldi South
Aldi North
American Eagle Outfitters
Arcadia Group
Auchan
Belotex
Benetton
Bestseller (CHB)
Bonmarche
Brands Fashion
C&A
Camaieu
Carrefour
Casion Global
Charles Vogele
Chicca
Comtex
Colombus Textilvertrieb GmbH
Coop Danmark
Cotton On
Dansk Supermarked
Datex
Debenhams
Distra
DK Company
El Corte Ingles
Ernsting’s Family
Esprit
Fashion Linq
Fat Face
Forever New
GEBRA
Groupe Casino
G-Star
H&M
Helly Hansen
Hema
Hemtex
Hess Natur-Textilien GMBH
Horizonte
IC Companys A/S
ICA Sverige
Inditex
JBC
Jogilo
John Lewis
Jolo Fashion
Juritex
K-Mart (Australia)
KappAhl
Karstadt
Kik
Klaus Herding GmbH
LC Waikiki
Leclerc
Lidl
Loblaw
Mango
Marks and Spencer
Matalan
Metro Group
Mothercare
Multiline Group
N Brown
New Look
Next
O’Neill Europe BV
Otto Group
Primark
Puma
PVH
PWT Group A/s (Texman)
REWE Group
River Island
s.Oliver
Sainsbury’s
Schmidt Group
Scoop NYC/Zac Posen
Sean John Apparel
Shop Direct Group
Speciality Fashions (Aust)
Stockmann
Switcher
Target (Australia)
Tchibo
Tesco
Topgrade International
Uncle Sam GmbH
UNIQLO
Van Der Erve
Vaner Group
Voice Norge AS
We Europe BV
Woolworths
Wünsche Group
Zeeman