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Consumers in developed countries are right to feel a pang of guilt for the building collapse in Bangladesh that has killed upwards of 200 people. It should come as news to no one that many of the clothes we buy were made in shoddy factories, which fall far short of health and safety standards that have been in place in North America for close to a century. Yet we continue to express shock and horror when yet another poorly constructed, maintained or monitored building where everyday brands like Joe Fresh are made goes up in flames or collapses – while garment production only continues to expand in Bangladesh. A handful of retailers and brands have woken up to the problem and made real changes. The rest of the industry should follow, and quickly.
Plaudits go to PVH Corp., which owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, and retail giant Wal-Mart. The former signed the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement with unions and workers rights groups a year ago. The deal mandates inspections of clothing factories by fire safety experts, a public reporting of inspection reports, mandatory repairs and renovations to fix hazards – and a threat that any suppliers who don't comply will be cut off. Wal-Mart's new policy for "ethical sourcing" of clothing from Bangladesh and other countries – enacted after a deadly fire at a Bangladeshi factory last fall where some of its clothes were made – is also tough. The giant retailer now not only holds all suppliers accountable for safety standards and practices of its subcontractors, it will cut them off for failing to live up to them or to promptly fix mistakes.
Notably, Wal-Mart establishes specific criteria that would result in any Bangladesh factory being deemed "high risk." These include facilities that are located in multi-storey buildings shared with other factories, residences or marketplaces. In other words, no factory located in the building that collapsed this week would have been acceptable to Wal-Mart, and these criteria would have flagged the building as dangerous long before cracks developed in the structure.
If similar standards prevailed across the industry, the pressure on the builders, the operators and the factory owners in Bangladesh would prompt real improvements that would save lives. It's a sad state of affairs that local authorities appear to be helpless to stop these disasters – or toothless – but pressure from developed world buyers and their customers would have a real impact.
The tools and leadership are there. It is now up to the industry to follow those few who have made their sourcing practices much more stringent. Loblaw and others do have vendor standards in place, but they aren't as tough as PVH's and Wal-Mart's; the company, and any other purveyor of "Made in Bangladesh"-labeled clothing, needs to take responsibility for health and safety standards throughout their supply chain. A global certification process with a snappy ethical logo to accompany any article made in a safe factory would be a great outcome – not just because it's ethically right, but because if companies don't ask the inconvenient questions, their customers will.
Sean Silcoff is a contributor to ROB Insight, the business commentary service available to Globe Unlimited subscribers. Click here for more of his Insights, and follow Sean on Twitter at @seansilcoff .
Sean Silcoff