After more than 1,100 deaths exposed dangerous labor conditions in Bangladesh in 2013, brands like H&M, Walmart and Gap were among the most powerful companies that pledged to improve the safety of some of the country’s poorest workers. But human rights groups say that three years later, those promises are still unfulfilled, and that safety, labor and other issues persist in Bangladesh and other countries where global retailers benefit from an inexpensive work force. A series of new reports by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, a coalition of trade unions and other research and advocacy groups, has put a new spotlight on the conditions. In Bangladesh, the group says, tens of thousands of workers sew garments in buildings without proper fire exits. In Indonesia, India and elsewhere, pregnant women are vulnerable to reduced wages and discrimination. In Cambodia, workers who protested for an extra $20 a month were shot and killed.

In a statement, Walmart said that its standards for suppliers “specifically address working hours, breaks, the cultivation of a safe and healthy work environment, and freedom of association.” The retailer said that it does not own or operate facilities in Cambodia or Bangladesh, but that it expects suppliers to “uphold these standards in the factories from which they manufacture products.”

In a statement, H&M characterized the challenges outlined in the report as “industrywide.” “The report raises important issues, and we are dedicated to contributing to positive long-term development for the people working in the textile industry within our sourcing markets,” the company said. “H&M has been working actively for many years to help strengthen the textile workers‘ conditions and will continue to do so.”

In a statement, Laura Wilkinson, a spokeswoman for Gap, said that the company worked with a “wide-range of stakeholders,” including workers, unions, governments and nongovernmental organizations, to improve conditions at the factories that make its clothes.

She pointed to the company’s Code of Vendor Conduct, which requires workers to be paid either a legal minimum wage or a wage that meets local industry standards. The code also said that factories are “encouraged” to pay enough so that workers can cover their basic needs and have some discretionary income. Gap says it has about 70 local staff members who help enforce its standards in the countries that make its products.