In the wake of April 24, 2013, collapse of Rana Plaza that had killed 1,127 people, followed by a fire blaze in December 2012 that had ruined a garment factory, Bangladesh's garment industry became an area of focus from both labor rights group, human rights organizations, western public and western retailers themselves because of the country's shoddy labor and safety practices. An agreement primarily crafted by European retailers such as German Tchibo, Sweden-based H&M, Inditex, owner of Zara chain, C&A of the Netherlands, and Britain-based Tesco and Primark evolved by May 13, 2013 that called for:
* Helping pay for fire safety and building improvements
* Improving factory conditions
* Paying annually up to $500,000 to make the pact working
* Refusing to work with any factory that will not comply with the agreement
* Allowing workers and their unions to have a say in factory safety
No US retailer other than New York-based PVH, parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, has joined the 5-year binding agreement. Wal-Mart went alone on May 14, 2013 by making public its new stand-alone safety plan. Wal-Mart proposed to have:
* An inspection regime in place for Bangladesh's 279 factories it uses, starting June 1, 2013
* Safety training program for factory workers
* A complaint hotline for safety violation
On May 15, 2013, National Retail Federation refused to join the European retailers-crafted 5-year, binding agreement, citing legal implication.
* Helping pay for fire safety and building improvements
* Improving factory conditions
* Paying annually up to $500,000 to make the pact working
* Refusing to work with any factory that will not comply with the agreement
* Allowing workers and their unions to have a say in factory safety
No US retailer other than New York-based PVH, parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, has joined the 5-year binding agreement. Wal-Mart went alone on May 14, 2013 by making public its new stand-alone safety plan. Wal-Mart proposed to have:
* An inspection regime in place for Bangladesh's 279 factories it uses, starting June 1, 2013
* Safety training program for factory workers
* A complaint hotline for safety violation
On May 15, 2013, National Retail Federation refused to join the European retailers-crafted 5-year, binding agreement, citing legal implication.
