Bangladesh inquiry releases factory info

After several months of inquiries, signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have released details on almost 1,600 factories being used in the country. Together they employ over 2 million people. "This is not merely a list

of factory names; it includes crucial information on the physical structure of factories,” said Sean Ansett, the Accord's interim executive director. “These data points provide an unprecedented map of the Bangladesh apparel industry covered by the Accord and are playing a key role in prioritizing factories for safety inspections."

Factories are

identified by name, storeys and businesses

Data included on the list includes the factory name and address, the number of storeys of each structure, whether a building includes multiple apparel factories and whether it houses other types of businesses, the number of workers at each factory, and the number of Accord signatories using each factory.

More data will be disclosed as further information is gathered, and the list of factories will grow as recent signatories to the Accord have yet to release their factory details.

The legally binding Accord has been signed by over 90 global, but mainly European, brands and retailers, as well as two global unions and several Bangladeshi ones. The Clean Clothes Campaign, the Workers' Rights Consortium and the International Labor Rights Forum are NGO witnesses to the Accord, while the International Labour Organisation (ILO) acts as the independent chair.

Image: Bangladesh factory