Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Bangladesh Factory Safety Group Formed By European Brands Seeks To Delay Its Closure

A group set up by European fashion brands to improve factory safety in Bangladesh has sought a stay on a court order that calls for its local operations to end this week, its executive director said on Wednesday (28).

The group comprises more than 200 firms including global clothing giants such as H&M and Zara-owner Inditex who are signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, formed after the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013, which killed more than 1,100 people.


The five-year pact was set to expire in May 2018 but its brand signatories agreed last year to extend it to 2021 to complete remaining safety fixes, while the Bangladesh government set up a national regulatory body to take over its work.

A High Court in Bangladesh in May, however, ordered the Accord to shut down by November 30, following a petition filed by a local readymade garments supplier against the pact.

The group's inability to inspect factories through the agreement may prompt brands to cut ties with Bangladeshi suppliers, which would hit the country's economy, which is heavily reliant on garment exports.

"We have submitted an appeal to the supreme court...and are working to have a stay issued against the high court judgement that would close down our office," Rob Wayss, the Accord's executive director told Reuters.

The appeal is likely to be heard on Thursday (29), a government official said, declining to be named as the information was not public. Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan, head of the department of factory inspections at the labour ministry declined to comment, saying the matter was before the court.

Low wages have helped Bangladesh build the world's second-largest garment industry, behind China, with some 4,000 factories employing about 4 million workers. The sector exports more than $30 billion worth of clothes a year, mainly to the United States and Europe.

Wayss said the group would move its work to its Amsterdam office if it is forced to shut down in Bangladesh, as the legally-binding contract signed between its brand members extends up to 2021.

However, moving operations out of Bangladesh would likely increase the Accord's costs and also harm suppliers, said Wayss.

"Right now, they can come to the office any day of the week, we can review designs together, we can give them feedback," said Wayss. "Our ability to do that when we don't have an office and infrastructure is reduced, so the industry is harmed."

Bangladeshi commerce minister Tofail Ahmed told Reuters last week the Accord was no longer needed as the government's national regulatory body, the Remediation Coordination Cell, was able to do the job.

However, Wayss said that body still has work to do before it is ready to fully police standards in the sector.

"It's in its infancy, they have just hired their staff, they really don't have their systems in place, their engineers need a lot of additional training just like ours did," he said, adding safety fixes at over 500 of the factories the Accord oversees are still incomplete.

Reuters

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less