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8 Feb 2016

Bangladesh: Another major factory fire shows “industry safeguards” are failing

Matrix Sweater Factory, housed on the top floor of the eight-storied building caught fire on 2 February leaving four injured. The factory employs more than 6,000 workers, and is a supplier to big chains, like H&M and JCPenney. Had the fire started just one hour later, “the factory would have been filled with more than 6,000 workers, and the risk of death would have been extreme,” said the Clean Clothes Campaign. The factory was inspected in May of 2014 by Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. The inspection found that the factory lacked adequate fire doors, sprinklers, fire alarms, and fire hoses, among other deficiencies. H&M said in a  statement that it was following an industry accord on improving safety standards closely, and was in “close dialogue with the suppliers and are following up on the work that remains to be done."

Company Responses

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) View Response

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