"Which brands care about workers' safety?", 4 August 2021

Now that the Accord agreement is running out, many brands have suddenly [allegedly] backtracked from an earlier decision to continue the programme, thus putting workers' lives at risk in Bangladesh, and other countries which want to replicate the Accord model...

We have asked brands who profited from the Accord’s work whether they are ready to commit to an equally strong follow-up agreement. Some brands responded positively...saying they are 1. willing to sign a new agreement that is legally enforceable on individual brands, 2. has independent oversight, and 3. can be expanded to other countries...

The brands that we identify as the barriers to progress on factory safety are all brands which hold the power to make change possible...These brands [allegedly] did not want to commit to some or all of the crucial elements for a new agreement or have not answered us at all. On this side of the tracker we also included brands that are at the negotiating table and are thus directly responsible for [allegedly] failing to come to an agreement over the past months...

The, largely silent, majority of smaller Accord brands and all those brands that produce in Bangladesh which never even joined the Accord, are left out of this tracker. That does not mean that they don't carry responsibility if no new agreement is concluded and the sector returns to the safety levels before the Rana Plaza collapse...

We know that negotiations continue. We hope for the best possible outcome and are hopeful that the less outspoken majority of current Accord signatories will sign a strong agreement as soon as it is on the table, as they have signed the extension agreement in May. Therefore it is all the more important for the brands with the power and influence to make it happen to ensure a credible agreement is negotiated soon.

Clean Clothes Campaign recognises that negotiation committee brands are more involved and invested in the Accord than many brands from the silent majority or brands that never even signed the Accord at all. We appreciate that investment and hope they will come to a strong agreement that safeguards workers’ right to safety, in Bangladesh and beyond...