In August 2019, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) launched the Life and Building Safety Initiative (LABS) programme in Vietnam and India, which aims to promote safe working conditions in apparel and footwear industries. It is now set to expand to Pakistan and Cambodia in 2020. The initiative is an 'industry-driven' programme, involving multiple brands, including Gap, Bestseller, Li & Fung, PVH, Target, VF Corporation, and Walmart.

While LABS has promised to draw on experiences from the Bangladesh Accord, it has been highlighted by various actors including trade unions and NGOs that some of its policies and practices contradict the Accord. For example, the initiative is a voluntary, non-binding agreement with little transparency. Moreover, it is argued that implementation and decision-making power is largely in the hands of brands, as brands can choose to stop supplying from factories where safety issues have been found.

Ineke Zeldenrust of Clean Clothes Campaign has referred to it as a "disaster waiting to happen".