Has The Fashion Industry Risen From The Human Rights Rubble Of Rana Plaza?

April 24 marks ten years since the fashion industry’s worst accident, and Tearfund believes more change is needed to improve the lives of exploited workers and prevent another tragedy as companies push for ever-greater profits.

The Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killing more than 1000 garment workers and injuring 2,500. Despite a ban on working in the unsafe building, garment workers were threatened with the loss of a month’s wages if they did not turn up for work, and many lost their lives along with their children in the day-care centre.

To mark the ten-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, aid and development organisation, Tearfund, has released new analysis from a decade of Ethical Fashion Report research that reveals where the fashion industry has improved and what still needs to be done to prevent exploitation in supply chains. Research findings reveal progress in fashion companies tracing their supply chains, being transparent with key supplier information and applying robust codes of conduct to more of their supply chains.

Tearfund’s head of Advocacy, Claire Gray, reflects on a decade of advocating for change in the fashion industry. “Since 2013, we have seen significant improvements in the number of fashion companies finding out where the products are made, and their materials are sourced. We are seeing companies implement better standards across their supply chains and becoming more publicly transparent about them. All these improvements reduce the daily risks faced by garment workers.”

However, big improvements are still needed to address systemic issues which enable the fashion industry to make billions of dollars in profit from exploiting workers. Wages remain low, and most fashion companies do not support important efforts by workers to voice their concerns collectively and demand better working conditions.

“About 98% of the workers who make our clothes do not earn enough to meet their basic needs for their families despite working long hours and extra overtime. In 2013, we asked the original 25 companies in our research if they could guarantee their workers were paid a living wage, but only one company could say yes. Sadly, ten years later these same companies could still not provide evidence they were paying living wages at more than half the factories that make their garments,” says Gray.

Behind these statistics are hard-working people like *Rahela. Rahela has worked in the industry in Bangladesh for more than 20 years. While she has seen improvements in wages and conditions, she still struggles financially.

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Rahela told us: “This salary is not enough to support me and my family. You receive your salary from the factory and before even coming home it has been spent on rent, food, and other basic expenses. The price of everything has increased and is out of reach. In the past, if you shop at the bazaar for food, NZ$1.50 would fill a bag, now $15 fills a quarter of a bag. I dream of a good salary and a better life,” says Rahela.

Gray says, “While we can celebrate the changes made by fashion companies resulting from advocacy and greater consumer awareness, the fashion industry is still a long way off from giving their workers the quality of life they deserve.”

On the anniversary of this tragedy, Tearfund is asking consumers to keep the momentum of change going by emailing their favourite fashion companies to thank them for the improvements they have made over the past decade and ask them to commit to paying their workers a living wage.

*Name changed to protect identity.

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