"Monitoring working conditions at factories won’t stop future tragedies", 10 Aug 2015

The prevailing model for addressing poor working conditions in the apparel supply chain is failing.  With the growth of truly global supply chains over the past 40 years, multinational brands and retailers such as H&M, Nike or Target have stepped in to serve as labour inspectors when local governments in places such as China, Bangladesh, Vietnam or Honduras have failed... Under this “policing” model, brands...do little to change the root causes of poor working conditions and face little accountability when workers’ rights are violated, or even when workers die... Responsibility for minimum standards should be shared among Western brands and retailers, their primary suppliers, Western governments, financial institutions, labour unions and philanthropic organizations.