Illegal construction, shoddy materials at fault in Bangladesh factory disaster

Illegal construction, shoddy materials at fault in Bangladesh factory disaster

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The dangers identified by the report could have been prevented by regular inspections, advocates say. These inspections, along with other building safety and fire prevention measures, are mandatory under a sweeping worker safety agreement — signed by six European retailers and American companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch (a good P.R. strategy, considering its current troubles) — but major retailers like Gap, Wal-Mart, Target and others have refused to endorse it.

An analysis by the Worker Rights Consortium estimates that ensuring worker safety in Bangladesh would cost retailers an additional 10 cents per garment, as executive director Scott Nova and Sweat Free Communities director Liana Foxvog noted in a recent editorial for the New York Times.