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IDemo

(16,926 posts)
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 12:17 PM Apr 2013

Bangladesh bosses plead with Western firms to keep doing business with them after tragedy

Source: Raw Story

Bangladeshi textile bosses pleaded Monday with Western clothing giants to keep doing business with them after nearly 400 people died in a factory collapse as hopes of finding more survivors faded.

Organisers of the mammoth rescue effort ordered in cranes on Monday to clear the ruins of what was once an eight-story factory compound before it caved in five days ago while some 3,000 textile workers were on shift.

As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid her first visit to the tangle of concrete, the confirmed number of dead stood at 382.

But the toll is expected to shoot up now heavy lifting equipment is being used. Rescuers had earlier been wary of using anything but hand-held drills, over fears that machinery could force more masonry to collapse onto survivors.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/29/bangladesh-bosses-plead-with-western-firms-to-keep-doing-business-with-them-after-tragedy/

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Bangladesh bosses plead with Western firms to keep doing business with them after tragedy (Original Post) IDemo Apr 2013 OP
Blood on their clothes DainBramaged Apr 2013 #1
Might continue adieu Apr 2013 #2
the Western clothing giants bear much of the responsibility Enrique Apr 2013 #3
since we're assigning blame we cant forget the people who demand lowest dollar leftyohiolib Apr 2013 #5
Benetton admits link with firm in collapsed Bangladesh building alp227 Apr 2013 #4

DainBramaged

(39,191 posts)
1. Blood on their clothes
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 12:24 PM
Apr 2013

knowing the way American retailers whore out to the lowest bidder, they will


Seven people have so far been arrested over the disaster, including the overall owner of the complex, property tycoon Sohel Rana, who was detained as he attempted to cross into India and was flown back to Dhaka.

 

adieu

(1,009 posts)
2. Might continue
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 12:39 PM
Apr 2013

until one more incident. Then, it will be a major marketing nightmare and the US retailers will have to move to another country to exploit.

I'd suggest to the Bangladeshies to fix up their end of the bargain and be willing to charge more for the product. The final cost would be minimal to the end customer and may even be absorbed by the retailers.

Enrique

(27,461 posts)
3. the Western clothing giants bear much of the responsibility
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 12:40 PM
Apr 2013

lest we think this is a conflict between Western companies who want safety, vs. Bangladesh who doesn't care about safety:

http://news.yahoo.com/big-brands-rejected-bangladesh-factory-safety-plan-122206229.html

Labor groups argue the best way to clean up Bangladesh's garment factories already is outlined in a nine-page safety proposal drawn up by Bangladeshi and international unions.

The plan would ditch government inspections, which are infrequent and easily subverted by corruption, and establish an independent inspectorate to oversee all factories in Bangladesh, with powers to shut down unsafe facilities as part of a legally binding contract signed by suppliers, customers and unions. The inspections would be funded by contributions from the companies of up to $500,000 per year.

The proposal was presented at a 2011 meeting in Dhaka attended by more than a dozen of the world's largest clothing brands and retailers — including Wal-Mart, Gap and Swedish clothing giant H&M — but was rejected by the companies because it would be legally binding and costly.

At the time, Wal-Mart's representative told the meeting it was "not financially feasible ... to make such investments," according to minutes of the meeting obtained by The Associated Press.

After last year's Tazreen blaze, Bangladeshi union president Amin said he and international labor activists renewed a push for the independent inspectorate plan, but none of the factories or big brands would agree.
 

leftyohiolib

(5,917 posts)
5. since we're assigning blame we cant forget the people who demand lowest dollar
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 01:58 PM
Apr 2013

for their goods and sevices. they are the ones who gave rise to the walmarting of america the owners, afraid you'll go elsewhere, combed the planet for a place where the could make their crap even cheaper.

alp227

(31,962 posts)
4. Benetton admits link with firm in collapsed Bangladesh building
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 01:05 PM
Apr 2013

The Italian retail giant Benetton has admitted that it was supplied by one of the garment factories in the Bangladesh building which collapsed last Wednesday for a one-off order, after previously denying that it had links with any of the businesses there.

The company's U-turn came as a Bangladesh court on Monday gave police 15 days to question the owner of the building, in which at least 382 people were killed, as rescuers used heavy machinery to cut through the destroyed structure after giving up hopes of finding any more survivors.

Mohammed Sohel Rana, who was arrested on Sunday as he tried to flee to India, will be held for questioning on charges of negligence, illegal construction and forcing employees to work in the building. His father, Abdul Khaleque, was also arrested on suspicion of aiding Rana to force people to work in a dangerous building.

The illegally constructed, eight-storey Rana Plaza collapsed in a heap as thousands of people worked inside, in five garment factories that supply major western brands including Primark, Matalon, Mango and Benetton. About 2,500 survivors have been accounted for.

Benetton's announcement follows the publication by the Associated Press of pictures garments with its labels in the debris. The Italian firm, which on the day of the tragedy issued a statement saying "None of the companies involved are suppliers to Benetton Group or any of its brands", said this had been updated in the light of contiuning investigations.

The statement said: "Regarding the tragic accident in Dhaka, Bangladesh, we wish to confirm that none of the companies involved is a supplier to any of our brands. Further to this, a one-time order was completed and shipped out of one of the manufacturers involved several weeks prior to the accident.

"Since then, this subcontractor has been removed from our supplier list. A programme of random audits take place on an ongoing basis throughout our global supply chain, to ensure that all direct and indirect suppliers comply with our long-standing social, labor and environmental standards."

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/29/benetton-link-collapsed-building-bangladesh

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