New York, NY (BBN)- The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has identified that the lack of supply chain transparency by the brands was a key reason for not addressing the problems at Rana Plaza before the catastrophe happened.
“Brands’ lack of supply chain transparency was a key reason why the problems at Rana Plaza were not addressed before the point of catastrophe,” the New York-based rights watchdog said in an article published in its website on Friday.
The HRW also noted that unions and labour rights groups gathered brand labels of the clothes produced in the destroyed factories from the rubble, and demanded that those brands contribute to the compensation fund for the victims and support broader reform measures.
Unions and labor rights advocates have alleged that a major German clothing brand, KiK, had production in factories in Rana Plaza. KiK stated in a press release on April 2, 2014, that the company had “no direct business relation at the point of the accident” and, in a letter to Human Rights Watch, said that it had contributed to the compensation fund.
Workers have also alleged that KiK had production in the Tazreen, a Bangladesh factory that caught fire in November 2012, killing 117 workers.
According to the Clean Clothes Campaign, in December 2012 KiK acknowledged having produced garments in Tazreen, and on April 2013, KiK joined with a number of other brands in pledging to pay funds into a compensation fund for victims of the Tazreen fire.
The families of victims of a factory fire that killed 262 persons at the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi, Pakistan, in September 2012 have brought a lawsuit against KiK in German courts alleging that the company’s garments were being produced in the factory at the time, and seeking compensation.
HRW Germany director Michalski said, “German clothing brands should be leading the way globally in demanding their suppliers respect workers’ rights and that factory environments meet international standards for safety.”
“For their part, German shoppers should demand that brands make it clear where products are made and under what conditions so they can make fully informed consumer decisions,” he said.
The HRW observed that many brands have codes of conduct that prohibit abuses of labour and human rights in supplier factories but fail to effectively monitor and ensure those codes are fully complied with.
BBN/SSR/AD-27Mar15-11:15 pm (BST)