Bangladesh: Fast Fashion but at What Cost?

By: Tessa Mallett

The fast fashion industry is a booming one, as each year retail brands make billions of dollars in profits.[1] To keep up with ever-changing fashion trends, these brands typically “set up shop or [outsource] from factories” in Asian countries.[2] One of the largest manufactures is Bangladesh, which has prospered due to its “low wages, plentiful labor, high-volume production, . . . and limited government regulation.”[3] Bangladesh has faced criticism for having unsafe work conditions, low wages, and negatively affecting the environment.[4] This backlash increased ten-fold on April 24, 2013, when an eight-story complex called the Rana Plaza near Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,134 garment workers and injuring over 2,000.[5] This post examines the actions taken after the collapse and how Bangladeshi garment workers are treated today.

Cracks in the building’s structure caused its eventual collapse.[6] The cracks were found the day before the collapse, but garment factory owners on the higher floors “ignored safety concerns and instructed employees to work the next day.”[7] The majority of the garment workers returned because they could not afford to miss a day of work.[8] The factory owners refusing to take safety precautions sparked global outrage, with consumers and politicians alike demanding change.[9]

In response, twenty-nine brands created the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (“the Alliance”), which aimed to “build . . . and maintain safe working conditions throughout Bangladesh.”[10] The Alliance created the Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard, which instituted a uniform set of safety requirements for factories.[11] It also instituted corrective action plans (“CAP”), which were individual safety standards for each participating factory.[12] The CAPs “outlined the detailed structural, fire, and electric safety improvements required” for factories to “create safe workplaces.”[13]

Several brands also created the Accord on Fire and Building Safety (“The Accord”).[14] The Accord required, amongst other things, brands institute an inspection program where “qualified [s]afety [i]nspectors . . . independent of and not concurrently employed by the companies” would routinely inspect their factories.[15] Further, the brands would publicize all their inspection reports, as well as a list of all their suppliers in Bangladesh.[16] Both the Accord and the Alliance were legally binding agreements intended to last only five years.[17] Afterwards, the Alliance would cease operating and the Accord’s duties were to be “handed over to a national regulatory body, supported by the International Labor Organization.”[18]

On December 31, 2018, the Alliance stopped operating as planned.[19] As of 2018, almost 1.6 million Bangladeshi workers had received fire safety training.[20] Further, 93% of participating factories had begun changing their workplaces to comply with their CAP.[21] Following the Alliance’s conclusion, a private organization, the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA), created the Ready Made Garments Sustainability Council (“the Council”).[22] The Council is intended to replace the Alliance and the Accord.[23] The Council has already announced controversial changes, such as its refusal to “levy[] punitive measures against noncompliant factories.”[24]

Concerning the Accord, since 2013 over 190 brands have signed.[25] The Accord was extended to May 31, 2020.[26] However, the Accord will be “absorbed into the [BGMEA] [C]ouncil” by the middle of 2020.[27] As of this post’s drafting, independent inspectors have conducted 37,327 inspections.[28] Further, the Accord has created over 1,300 safety committees in various factories, which are trained to do the following:

Conduct factory inspections to identify safety hazards; respond to worker’s health and safety complaints; actively communicate about safety and health issues to workers; actively communicate about safety and health issues to workers; review company accident reports to learn how such accidents can be prevented; [and] meet regularly, at least once every three months.[29]

Yet, the Bangladesh government has still not resolved a major factor that led to the deaths of so many garment workers in the Rana Plaza collapse: low wages.[30] Prior to the collapse, a worker typically made “less than $40 a month.”[31] Following the tragedy, the government increased the wages to “$95 a month,” which is still the minimum wage today.[32] However, garment workers still often live paycheck to paycheck and must stretch their wages to support multiple family members.[33] Further, Bangladesh law “requires [factory owners] to pay severance, but many do [not].”[34]

The future of the fast fashion industry in Bangladesh is undetermined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, clothing sales have been dropping significantly and brands have been forced to close several of their stores.[35] Consequently, brands have been mass canceling orders from suppliers, which has had a devastating impact on Bangladesh.[36] In April, Rubana Huq, president of the BGMEA, stated that an estimated “1,048 factories . . . had reported that orders for over 900 million garments worth $2.9 billion had already been canceled or were being held up.”[37] Because of this, factories had to close and almost “[one] million workers [were] fired or furloughed by early April.”[38]

The Bangladeshi government announced in March a “$588 million coronavirus stimulus package for [Bangladesh] apparel industry . . . [and] asked companies to put aid toward worker’s salaries.” Despite this, “72% of furloughed workers were sent home without pay.”[39] Since May, many of the factories have reopened, but workers have claimed they are not being paid their full wages.[40] Further, the factories are cramped, forcing employees to work in close proximity and making it impossible to social distance.[41] 

The future of garment workers in Bangladesh is uncertain. Despite the changes in the industry after the Rana Plaza collapse, workers still face many of the same issues they did previously. Many have theorized if such change was even possible because outside sources were responsible and now worry that the Council taking control will cause regression.[42] However, the Rana Plaza collapse demonstrated that outside pressure can compel the Bangladesh government and brands to improve working conditions and wages. While a single consumer may feel it is impossible to make a difference, together it is possible to effectuate change. And at a time where so many garment workers’ livelihoods depend on the industry, now more than ever it is time to put our money where our mouth is. 

Picture Credit: Solidarity Center

#Bangladesh #Fashion #Mallett #Blogpost #International #Law

[1] Lucy Handley, Fast-Fashion Retailers Like Zara and H&M Have A New Threat: The $24 Billion Used Clothes Market, CNBC (Mar. 19, 2019), https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/19/fashion-retailers-under-threat-from-24-billion-second-hand-market.html.

[2] Kelley Drennan, Picking Up the Threads: Fast Fashion Led to the Rana Plaza Tragedy in Bangladesh. We Can Do Better, 41 Alternatives J. 20, 21 (2015).

[3] Anna Land & Rimi Zakaria, Rana Plaza Collapse, Its Aftermath, and Future Implications for Sustainability, Sage Publications 3 (2019).

[4] Vikas Bajaj, Fatal Fire in Bangladesh highlights the Dangers Facing Garment Workers, New York Times (Nov. 25, 2012), https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-kills-more-than-100-and-injures-many.html.

[5] Anna Land & Rimi Zakaria, supra note 3.

[6] Id. at 4.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Bangladesh Dhaka Building Collapse Leaves 87 Dead, BBC (Apr. 24, 2013), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22275597.

[10] About the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (last visited Aug. 30, 2020), http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/who-we-are/about-the-alliance.

[11] Standards and Inspections, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (last visited Aug. 30, 2020), http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/what-we-do/standards-inspections.

[12]  Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety: Fifth Annual Report, Bangladesh Worker Safety 11 (Nov. 2018), http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/files/Alliance%20Fifth%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf.

[13] Id. Factories that did not comply with the CAPs were removed from the Alliance’s “list of compliant factories.” Id.

[14] About, Bangladesh Accord (last visited Aug, 30, 2020), https://bangladeshaccord.org/about.

[15] 2018 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh: May 2018, Bangladesh Accord 3 (June 21, 2017), https://bangladesh.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-Accord.pdf.

[16] Id. at 6.

[17] Elizabeth Paton, After Factory Disaster, Bangladesh Made Big Safety Strides. Are the Bad Days Coming Back?, New York Times (Mar. 1, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/asia/rana-plaza-bangladesh-garment-industry.html.

[18] 2018 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, supra note 14, at 1.

[19] About the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, supra note 10.

[20] Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety: Fifth Annual Report, Bangladesh Worker Safety 7 (Nov. 2018), http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/files/Alliance%20Fifth%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf.

[21] Id. at 13.

[22] Elizabeth Paton, supra note 17.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Accord (last visited Aug. 30, 2020), https://bangladeshaccord.org.

[26] 2018 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, supra note 14, at 1.

[27] Elizabeth Paton, supra note 17.

[28] Update Safety Training Program, Bangladesh Accord (April 27, 2020), https://bangladeshaccord.org/updates/2020/04/27/update-safety-training-program.

[29] Id.  

[30] Anna Land & Rimi Zakaria, supra note 3, at 4.

[31] Agence France-Presse, Bangladesh to Raise Garment Workers’ Minimum Wage, Industry Week (May 13, 2013), https://www.industryweek.com/talent/article/21960228/bangladesh-to-raise-garment-workers-minimum-wages.

[32] Bangladesh Raises Wages for Garment Workers, Reuters (Sept. 13, 2018), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-garments/bangladesh-raises-wages-for-garment-workers-idUSKCN1LT2UR.

[33] Lauren Frayer, For Bangladesh’s Struggling Garment Workers, Hunger Is A Bigger Worry Than Pandemic, NPR (June 5, 2020), https://www.npr.org/2020/06/05/869486297/for-bangladeshs-struggling-garment-workers-hunger-is-a-bigger-worry-than-pandemi.

[34] Id.

[35] Shelley E. Kohan, Fast Fashion Leaders H&M and Zara; Weathering the Pandemic, Forbes (Mar. 30, 2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleykohan/2020/03/30/fast-fashion-leaders-hm-and-zara-weathering-the-pandemic/#5af2a16a17a2.

[36] Garment Exporter Bangladesh, Second-Largest After China, Faces $6

[37] Ruma Paul, Garment Exporter Bangladesh, Faces $6 Bn Hit as World Retailers Cancel, Reuters (Mar. 31, 2020), https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-bangladesh-exports/garment-exporter-bangladesh-faces-6-billion-hit-as-top-retailers-cancel-idUKKBN21I2R9.

[38] Lauren Frayer, For Bangladesh’s Struggling Garment Workers, Hunger Is A Bigger Worry Than Pandemic, NPR (June 5, 2020), https://www.npr.org/2020/06/05/869486297/for-bangladeshs-struggling-garment-workers-hunger-is-a-bigger-worry-than-pandemi.

[39] Id. 

[40] Id.

[41] Id.

[42] Elizabeth Paton, supra note 17.