The Collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh In April 2013, the deadliest garment factory accident in hist- negotiate commercial terms with suppliers that ensure it is fo ory occurred in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when Rana Plaza, an eight- nancially feasible for the factories to maintain safe workplaces; storey building housing a factory, a bank, and apartments, and provide funding for the activities of the programs, with collapsed, killing 1,132 people and injuring 2,500.35 More than each company contributing its equitable share of the funding half the workers were women, and, because the building had up to a maximum contribution of $500,000 per year. nursery facilities, many children were also victims. The cause of The Accord impacts over 2.5 million employees in the collapse was found to be a failure to follow building codes Bangladesh. Since its signing, engineers have inspected more in construction. The top four floors of the building were con- than 2,000 factories and identified over 150,000 fire, electrical, structed without permits. 36 and structural hazards. Some 85 percent of the safety hazards Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in identified during initial inspections across all Accord factor- the world and is the second largest exporter of apparel after ies have been fixed, 150 Accord factories have completed the China, 3 in large part because of the extremely low cost of safety remediation, and 857 Accord factories have completed labour there. Many of the clothes that were being produced more than 90 percent of the remediation. in the factory were made for Western retailers, among whom The Accord secretariat and its signatories suggest that only was Canada's Joe Fresh label, carried by Loblaws and Joe Fresh changes to domestic laws and their enforcement by Bangla- stores. Western retailers are interested in seeking production deshi authorities will ultimately solve the issue of unsafe face facilities in jurisdictions with low wages largely as a result of tories. However, until that is possible the Accord, together demand from Western consumers, who have become accus- with Bangladeshi authorities, will mitigate future catastrophes tomed to low-cost trendy clothing from retailers like Walmart, through continued inspections, remediations, safety commit Target, American Eagle, and H&M and do not concern them- tee training programmes, and complaints mechanisms." selves with the conditions in which these products are pro- duced.9 Many of these jurisdictions either do not have robust Critical Analysis Questions workplace safety regulations or fail to enforce them where they do exist. 1. You have recently launched a small clothing retail business in Vancouver, importing clothing from Following the collapse of the factory, public outcry, and damage to the collective image of the garment industry, ap- overseas, and you are keen to build a reputation as an proximately 200 apparel brands and retailers, including Loblaws, ethical trader. Your main concern is ethical sourcing and trade unions entered into a legally binding agreement, What can you do to ensure your business scores high on Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord). 40 The ethics? Accord is designed to improve health and safety conditions in 2. What is the role of business in ensuring health and the Bangladeshi garment industry. Each signatory brand name safety standards in jurisdictions that either do not have and retailer joining the Accord must disclose the list of their robust workplace safety regulations or fail to enforce Bangladeshi factories; ensure their factories participate in the them where they do exist? Accord inspections and remediation and workplace programs; 3. How can the Canadian government and businesses work together to improve ethical standards for importers