Why supply chain transparency is needed to protect garment workers

  • Written by Peter Needle
  • Published on 13 August 2015
  • Blogs

The C&A Foundation recently pledged to provide significant compensation to garment workers injured and killed in the Tazreen factory fire three years ago. Steps are being taken to improve safety standards in the Bangladesh garment industry, but a lack of supply chain transparency is slowing down progress. So who’s to blame here?

Tazreen Fashions fire

The Tazreen disaster occurred in November 2012, predating the even more infamous Rana Plaza collapse. A fire at a Bangladeshi clothing factory killed 112 workers and injured 150 more, many of whom had jumped from the burning building which had been locked from the outside.

C&A Foundation, a charitable group linked to the garment retailer, has pledged to contribute an undisclosed “significant amount” towards full compensation, in a deal with global union IndustriALL and the garment workers’ rights group Clean Clothes Campaign.

These funds will provide former factory workers with compensation for loss of income, provision of independent medical assessments and ongoing treatment. Compensation will also be given to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire.

Who is at fault?

So why is accountability such a tricky topic in the garment industry?

Some individuals claim that foreign buyers are responsible for supply chain risks and should pay compensation to the victims of the Tazreen fire. “Our workers work under factory owners but according to needs of the buyers,” Amirul Haque Amin, president of Jatiya Garment Workers Federation, told bdnews24.com. “Buyers, therefore, should bear the lion’s share of the damages.”

However, others argue that factory owner Delwar Hossain and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) should compensate workers. “The factory’s owner Delwar and BGMEA are responsible for the fire,” said General Secretary of the Garment Sramik Federation, Kalyan Dutta.

Struggling for supply chain transparency

Tazreen Fashions had supplied garments to multiple other major brands, but as of late last year, funds had only been donated by C&A and Hong Kong-based sourcing group Li & Fung.

Jykri Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL, explained: “Now the agreement for a compensation scheme has been reached, we are calling on all the brands that sourced from Tazreen Fashions to pay into the fund… We welcome the lead taken by C&A and other brands must follow.”

According to Human Rights Watch, of the 16 firms linked to the Tazreen factory, only two are thought to have made a meaningful financial contribution to victims. Several companies have paid nothing, arguing that the factory was making or storing products without their knowledge. Others have offered or claimed to have made undisclosed charitable donations.

However, Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, argues that ignorance is not an excuse. “The UN Guiding Principles clearly state that all firms have a responsibility to conduct due diligence throughout their supply chain, and provide a remedy to anyone affected by human rights violations," he explained. Retailers need to have a supply chain strategy in place which prevents global sourcing from becoming a lucky dip.

How to control supply chain risks

In order to build a reliable and ethical supply chain, garment retailers need to know exactly where and how each and every component of their clothing collection is sourced, from the fabric to the care label. Supply chain management solutions can lock down a retailer’s supplier base, ensuring that unauthorised sourcing is not possible within its production line.

Segura helps fashion brands to achieve this level of transparency across all secondary suppliers of garment trims and packaging. Our software platform enables fashion retailers to remove the risk of unethical sourcing from their supply chain, and helps to protect garment workers.

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