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Article

3 Apr 2018

Author:
Liana Foxvog, International Labor Rights Forum, & Christie Miedema, Clean Clothes Campaign

Why All Companies Sourcing Apparel from Bangladesh Should Join the 2018 Accord

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...The final remaining renovations can save lives

...The vast majority of the lagging renovations should have been fixed months or even years ago. These include changes that could save lives, such as the removal of lockable and collapsible gates – still an issue in several factories...

Similarly worrying is the fact that 60% of the factories have yet to complete a full and proper installation of a fire detection and prevention system. Not being able to detect a fire early on hampers workers’ ability to escape a burning building....

Especially significant, in light of the critical issues highlighted by the Rana Plaza collapse, is the fact that 34% of the factories still lack a management load plan. Such a plan is essential to ensure that a multi-story factory is able to hold up all the floors and the weight of all the machinery and workers without risk of collapse.

Safety needs continuous guarding to prevent shortcuts

...Ensuring safe factories is a continuous process, which does not finish at the moment that all corrective action plans are deemed carried out....

Given how effective the Accord has been – the sheer numbers of renovations made and workers and managers trained – and the urgent need to make reforms permanent, there is no viable reason for an apparel company that sources from Bangladesh to not immediately join the 2018 Accord.

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