Major clothing retailer Best&Less has been accused of putting company profit ahead of the safety of Bangladeshi garment workers by declining to sign a key international accord on worker safety and labour rights.
The Rana Plaza disaster, 10 years ago on Monday, prompted outrage at the abysmal safety standards in the Bangladesh factories supplying major clothing brands and retailers, leading to the establishment of a cross-border agreement known as the international accord.
Roughly 200 brands, including Just Jeans, Kmart, Big W, The Iconic and Mosaic Brands have signed the accord, which has helped to fund nearly 56,000 inspections across 2,400 garment factories in Bangladesh. The accord has identified 170,000 health and safety issues and successfully remediated 91% of the problems.
But major retailer Best&Less has been singled out by Australian aid groups for its failure to join the agreement, despite sourcing a significant portion of its clothing from Bangladeshi factories.
The company has 20 factories in Bangladesh, accounting for one-quarter of its global sourcing, according to ActionAid.
ActionAid executive director Michelle Higelin said the company had a duty to ensure the women making its garments “return home safely from work each day”.
“Best&Less have an ethical and corporate responsibility to financially contribute to safety improvements across factories in their supply chain,” she said.
ActionAid Bangladesh women’s rights manager Tamazer Ahmed said the company had “failed to put the safety of women garment workers ahead of company profit”.
A spokesperson for Best&Less said the company had 11 “partners” in Bangladesh and appreciated the role of the international accord. But it said its own safety code of conduct went further to ensure worker safety in the factories supplying its stores.
“Best&Less undertakes comprehensive factory assessments and audits in every country we work with,” the spokesperson said.
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“Best&Less audits are conducted by third parties and they cover each factory’s environmental impact, social practices, ethical practices and safety requirements and certifications, which includes building, chemical and fire safety.”
The spokesperson said the company had no involvement in “the unfortunate Rana Plaza building collapse”.
“Our sourcing code at that time prevented us from working with factories in that area due to the very risks that the accord today works to mitigate,” the spokesperson said.
The Rana Plaza disaster killed 1,134 people and injured another 2,000 at least. The factory building that collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was used to make clothing for international brands including Primark, Bonmarché and Canada’s Loblaw.
Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of clothing in the world, but advocates say workers still face underpayment and harassment for joining unions. The international accord was expanded in 2021 to include more safety provisions beyond fire, electrical and structural inspections. The updated agreement was also expanded to include Pakistan.