The Rana Plaza collapse on 24 April 2013 was the world s worst industrial accident in 30 years
The Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013 was a wake-up call to Bangladesh and the entire garment industry that building and worker safety should be a priority. Eight years on and the country has one of the safest and most transparent apparel industries thanks to the remediation work that ensued. But while much has been achieved, there remains no room for complacency.
When a multi-storey factory building complex collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, eight years ago in April 2013, killing at least 1,138 garment workers, the industry was shaken to the core. It was the world s worst industrial accident in 30 years and came just five months after the Tazreen factory fire in the same city, where more than 120 workers lost their lives.
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The fashion industry must come together to eradicate the use of forced labour in China s cotton supply chain, writes Kate Larsen, founder of responsible sourcing consultancy SupplyESChange.
Last week, the BBC documented the forced labour of Uyghur people in the cotton industry of the Xinjiang region of west China, where many are being moved from so-called “re-education” internment camps to work in factories. This is not new – a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute explored the issue back in March – but indicates an increase in the scale and scope of the abuses.
I was asked by the BBC to speak on the issue because I have extensive experience in the ethical trading and responsible sourcing of fashion. I have spent years in China, monitoring and engaging with suppliers, and I have interviewed Uyghur workers forced to labour in a Chinese factory.