VF Corp and IFC to provide 10 million dollars for Bangladesh

American apparel giant VF Corporation has teamed up with the International

Finance Corporation (IFC) to provide 10 million US dollars in financing for the improvement of fire and safety standards of supplier factories in Bangladesh.

According to a press statement released yesterday, the amount is part of VF’s overall 17 million US dollar commitment to the “health and safety of Bangladeshi garment workers”. The financial commitment will enable VF to provide a corporate guarantee for IFC remediation loans to VF suppliers. At a reasonable cost, these loans will be awarded to qualified suppliers that have factories in Bangladesh and are producing VF products.

“The safety of the people making our products around the world is an imperative,” commented Eric Wiseman, chairman, president and CEO of VF. “Our program with IFC helps to ensure that our suppliers have access to the necessary capital to complete safety improvement plans.”

VF is the owner of about 30 apparel brands, among them Lee, Nautica, The North Face and Wrangler, and is a member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a group of 26 North American apparel brands and retailers. Suppliers will only qualify for loans if they have already undergone structural, electrical and fire safety assessments as outlined by the Alliance. The individual loans, expected to range from 100,000 to 1 million US dollars, will be used to implement the action plans derived from the earlier assessments and the necessary fire and building safety improvements.

“Employment in the apparel industry has reduced poverty for millions of women in Bangladesh,” said Serge Devieux, IFC director for South Asia. “This financing model, which we think could work well for other buyers and suppliers, will help Bangladesh’s suppliers improve work conditions and strengthen the country’s ability to attract garment manufacturers.”