In an effort to address factory safety issues, leading North American retailers and brands have joined together in New York to develop and implement a new programme to improve fire and safety regulations in Bangladesh garment factories.
The meeting was organised by the Bipartisan Policy Centre and co-chaired by former US Senate majority leader and BPC co-founder George J Mitchell and former US senator and BPC senior fellow Olympia Snowe.
This alliance includes representatives from retailers and brands, as well as participants from industry associations among them: American Apparel & Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the Retail Council of Canada, according to a BPC web release.
The meeting, held on Thursday, was the first of several working sessions to be held over the next month in New York and Washington, DC by the BPC.
The alliance of retailers and brands requested that the BPC convene these discussions and that Senators Mitchell and Snowe serve as independent facilitators.
The alliance is driving to develop a single, unified action plan and schedule for implementation that will achieve effective and long-lasting change for the garment industry and its workers in Bangladesh. The alliance intends to release this plan by early July.
‘Since the recent tragedy, the retailers, brands, and trade associations have made considerable individual and collective progress developing new worker safety programs,’ said BPC president Jason Grumet.
‘Over the next several weeks, we look forward to building on the efforts of the Safer Factory Initiative and seeking input from key stakeholders to forge an effective response.’
-With New Age input
