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News / 27 September 2012

Ground-breaking agreement on (fire) safety in Bangladeshi garment factories

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) together with international and Bangladeshi labour rights groups and unions, has reached an agreement with the German-based retailer Tchibo on an ambitious safety programme in garment factories in Bangladesh. Earlier this year, PVH (owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) committed to the programme.


Factory incidents
Since 2006 more than 600 garment workers died in Bangladesh due to unsafe buildings. CCC has been campaigning on safety issues in Bangladesh since the collapse of the Spectrum factory in 2005, which left 64 people dead and involved high street brand ZARA. In the last years, fire incidents have cost the lives of thousands of garment workers worldwide. Recently, more than 300 workers died in fires in unsafe factories in Pakistan.

 

Call on all major brands
The (fire) safety programme allows for independent building inspections, worker rights training, public disclosure and a long-overdue review of safety standards. It is transparent as well as practical, and unique in being supported by all key labour stakeholders in Bangladesh and internationally. The labour signatories are now calling on all major brands sourcing in the industry to sign on to the initiative in order to ensure its rapid implementation.

 

Alliance
Both ENDS works together with CCC and four other civil society organisations in the Fair Green and Global Alliance (FGG). The Alliance enhances the capacities of civil society organisations in developing countries and in emerging economies, because these organisations represent the interests of local communities and thus contribute to social justice and environmentally sustainable development.

 

For more information:
Press Release Clean Clothes Campaign
Fair, Green and Global Alliance

photo: Collapse of garment factory Spectrum in 2005
Clean Clothes Campaign – the Netherlands

 

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