17 February 2020

... [O]n its website [Nandan Denim factory] claims to be one of the world’s largest integrated denim fabric makers and, on a now removed page, named major international apparel companies including Wrangler, Zara, Joe Fresh, Target, VF Corp., Ralph Lauren and Primark as its buyers. Most of these companies have denied a recent sourcing relationship with the factory and the factory itself has indicated that this unit primarily produced for the local market. Despite these denials, the US import database Import Genius shows several recent shipments coming from the factory...

...The fact that even such a large, internationally producing factory can turn out to maintain units that are obvious death traps is a bad sign for the safety of the many subcontracting and local producers in the country... Without a credible, transparent, legally binding safety programme that allows for inspection, remediation, training and a complaint mechanism, tragedies... are likely to recur...

[F]amilies of the killed workers as well as those injured... [must be] compensated for at least loss of income and medical costs... as laid down in ILO Convention 121 on employment injury benefits. The compensation... promised by the factory... [and] commitment to employ deceased workers’ family members is a promising start, but supply chain responsibility for workplace death and injury should... include buyer accountability...