The Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 garment industry workers in Bangladesh was a massive human disaster but small accidents regularly occur in garment factories taking lives of one or two workers due to flaws in safety measures.
Perhaps it was in this backdrop that labor and human rights activists Times Square last week demanded U.S. denim giant Levi’s, to sign the Pakistan Accord that relates to safety in the garment sector.
Other major brands have signed Pakistan Accord number 49 that empowers independent safety investigators to inspect more than 300 Pakistani manufacturing facilities and guarantee certain health and safety provisions for workers. A petition signed by 52,000 individuals has urged Levi’s to sign on as well.
The demonstrators at Times Square reminded passersby of the time when US factory workers faced the same dangers and substandard conditions that many in places like Bangladesh and Pakistan are today. They demonstrated the symbolic coffins of the four workers who died after breathing in toxic fumes at the Artistic Milliners denim factory in Karachi, Pakistan in January 2022.
One activist said that many incidents are happening on a daily basis, in which workers are injured or killed at these factories and these big brands like Levi’s that outsource their garments to these factories are equally responsible for the workers’ plight.
Levi’s do acknowledge the need for improved working conditions at factories in Asia, but insists that the best way forward is to rely on industry standards and third-party organizations. Its spokesman said Levi’s conducts third-party assessments with direct suppliers operating Pakistan.Corrective measures are taken in light of these assessments.
Labor leaders think that Levi’s isn’t fit to regulate itself on workers’ rights. Workers died under this voluntary program in a Pakistani factory after inhaling poisonous gasses, they assert. They contend that brands that continue to hide behind their voluntary efforts don’t have any accountability.
Fashion brands that have signed the Pakistan Accord include European makers Zara and H&M. But American Eagle Outfitters and Calvin Klein parent company PVH are the only U.S.-based peers of Levi’s to have made the pledge.
LEVIS mum on signing Pakistan Accord
