Dying for Some New Clothes: Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza Tragedy

[Time]

If the world wants an image that sums up the true cost of supplying big-name retailers with cheap, fast fashion, it only has to ponder the horrifying images coming out of Dhaka as thousands of frantic relatives and rescue workers continue to claw through the rubble of Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster in a desperate search for survivors. Many people remain trapped in the remnants of the multistory Rana Plaza — home to several garment factories — after the building collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday, killing around 300, according to the latest figures, and injuring more than 1,200. Bangladesh's government declared an official day of mourning on Thursday and the death toll is expected to climb as more bodies are found. The first three floors of the building, located in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, contained around 300 shops. At least four garment factories — New Wave Bottoms, Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tack and Ethar Textile Ltd. — occupied higher levels, employing around 3,500 people. The website of New Wave claims to supply major Western retailers from the U.S. and Europe. Ethar claims to produce clothes for Walmart, but this has been challenged by the U.S. giant. Other firms have also distanced themselves from the disaster. Only Britain's Primark freely admitted that it was using a factory in Rana Plaza. What is not in dispute, however, is the cruel reality of the global rag trade: in order for consumers in developed economies to enjoy tasteful clothes at affordable prices, low-paid workers in countries like Bangladesh must toil in dangerous, sometimes lethal, conditions. Officials say the building showed cracks on Tuesday, but the owner, Sohel Rana, a local leader of the ruling Awami League party's youth wing, allegedly dismissed them as "nothing serious." Activists claim the tragedy could have been avoided had staff in Rana Plaza been unionized and thus in a position to defy the order to ignore the danger. "The managers forced us to return to work, and just one hour after we entered the factory the building collapsed

Via: TIME GlobalSpin