Benetton chief executive Biagio Chiarolanza said his company planned to stay in Bangladesh despite concerns over factory safety and work conditions in the country’s £13billion garment industry, reports Daily Mail quoting The Huffington Post.
The head of Benetton admitted that it had links to the garment factory that collapsed last month killing almost 900 people.
Biagio said the company bought shirts from New Wave Style, which was based at the building in capital Dhaka, as it became the latest company to admit links to the Rana Plaza building.
Primark operated a floor of the eight-storey building and other garment makers inside the factory included suppliers to Matalan and Mango.
Biagio said one of their direct Indian suppliers had subcontracted two orders to The New Wave company that supplied about 200,000 shirts that were made inside the building.
He added that one month before the collapse, Benetton had decided to stop using New Wave because it could not meet ‘strict’ quality and efficiency standards, according to The Huffington Post.
The chief executive said the solution to the safety issues was not to abandon Bangladesh.
‘I spent some period of my life in this part of the world, and I believe – I really believe – Benetton and other international brands can help these countries improve their condition,’ he said.
‘But we need a safe and happy working environment and we need to have better conditions.’
Benetton was heavily criticised after the collapse and accused of paying sub-poverty level wages.
Biagio said they will now add more checks when assessing factories.
The owner of the building only had permission
for a five-storey structure and there is speculation
that his exceeding that
was the cause of the collapse.
More than 2,500 people were pulled from the rubble alive in the days following the disaster.
-With New Age input
