What: BoF unpacks the Bangladesh Accord, a legally binding agreement signed by fashion brands and trade unions after the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which aimed to address dangerous factory conditions and improve workers' rights.

Why it is important: Retailers are facing increased pressure from regulators, consumers, and investors to improve labour conditions in their supply chains, particularly since the pandemic has led to worsening risks of modern slavery and wage theft.

The Bangladesh Accord is considered the most effective safety campaign in the modern garment industry and provides important lessons for the industry to address labour abuses, although challenges remain as brands face pressure to improve labour conditions. The Accord required independent inspections, transparent reporting, financial commitments to support improvements, and collective action from brands to address dangerous factory conditions.

Despite the Accord’s efforts and adoption, labor standards across the industry have remained poor. The International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry aims to extend the accord beyond Bangladesh to other countries but faces challenges from brands who view it as a legal risk and prefer self-regulated monitoring.

While the Accord transformed safety levels in the factories it covered, labor standards across the industry have otherwise lagged. The Accord's supporters say it offers an effective framework to help monitor and improve conditions, and its accountability, transparency and collaborative nature are what set it apart from the status quo. However, keeping the Accord's legally binding framework alive has been challenging, as it faced opposition from Bangladesh's government, factory owners, and even large companies that prefer their own programs or commitments that don't come with the same binding requirements. Despite these challenges, the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry aims to expand the model to other garment-producing countries.

The accountability, transparency, and collaborative nature of the Accord have been crucial to its success, and it offers important lessons for the industry to safeguard workers' rights in their supply chains. Therefore, applying the same model of the Accord to address other labor-related issues beyond safety, such as wages and the right to organize, can lead to similar progress.

How to avoid another Rana Plaza