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5 years after the world’s largest garment factory collapse, is safety in Bangladesh any better?
by rd95

    Since the collapse, inspections at 1,600 garment factories under the Accord revealed more than 130,000 safety problems, including electrical and structural integrity issues and a lack of safe fire exits, Oldenziel said. So far, 85 percent of those issues have been resolved. Inspectors ordered the temporary evacuation of 50 factories because of serious structural concerns, he added.

    As for the U.S. brands, about half of the 666 factories who are part of the alliance have made fixes in the five years since Rana Plaza, Moriarty said.

    Barrett’s center found in total that about 80 percent to 90 percent of the 2,300 factories between the two groups addressed their deficiencies, from installing sprinkler systems to building stronger buildings.

    Another 109 factories that did not cooperate had their contracts terminated, which also meant they could not work with any of the brands who were in the Accord, Oldenziel said. After 18 months, if the factories made required improvements, they became eligible to re-qualify for contracts.