How Companies Are Addressing Human Rights in the Workplace
A file photo dated April 24, 2013, shows the collapsed Rana Plaza building, which killed more than 1,100 people and injured more than 2,500 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photographer: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesTragedies such as the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, where more than 1,100 people making garments for international companies lost their lives, have been a wakeup call. Companies, investors, and civil society are doing more to tackle human rights issues in the workplace.
After the collapse, companies started taking closer looks at their supply chains. And 200 apparel brands and retailers in the U.S. and Europe signed a factory safety pact called the Accord on Fire & Building Safety in Bangladesh. The agreement, which is legally binding and includes global brands, retailers, and trade unions, vows to build a safe readymade garment industry in the country. Among the signatories are Abercrombie & Fitch, Fruit of the Loom, Benetton, Adidas, Mango, and H&M.