Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Woolworths has continued to place clothing orders with a Bangladeshi company whose textile factory burnt down last year, killing seven workers, the first public release of its factory list shows.
Woolworths has quietly published the names and addresses of 52 supplier factories in Bangladesh, which has drawn international scrutiny for its string of industrial disasters, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
''The list is currently complete and up-to-date,'' a spokeswoman said. ''We posted the Bangladesh factory list on our website in late March for transparency reasons.''
Sixth on the list is Aswad Composite Mills unit two in Savar, a subsidiary of Palmal Group, one of Bangladesh's biggest clothing manufacturers.
Aswad's Gazipur factory burnt down in October.
Seven workers died after a heating chimney caught fire.
Woolworths, which owns Big W, at the time could "not rule out" that it had sourced fabric from Aswad in Gazipur because it ordered through Palmal.
Woolworths said the Aswad factory on its list did not refer to the one gutted by the fire, and that in the month of the tragedy it had become a signatory of the legally binding Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, designed to prevent further disasters.
''Palmal factories are signatories of the accord and our understanding is that all accord members are producing in line with Bangladeshi law,'' a spokeswoman said.
But while all Woolworths' factories were audited in the past 12 months, it used the services of third-party companies.
''Companies pay other companies to conduct audits, and it's an important step, but audit fraud is common across Asia,'' said Daisy Gardener, Oxfam's corporate accountability and fair trade adviser.
''Factories can keep double books, and workers might be afraid to speak. We don't see that as truly independent, it's not good enough.''
While applauding the move, Oxfam is urging Woolworths to take Kmart's lead and list its supplier factories in other countries.
''Publishing lists doesn't solve everything, but it enables independent checking of what companies are saying are happening in their supply chains,'' Gardener said.
The Gazipur factory also made fabric for Kmart, Target, and Just Group.
Kmart was the first Australian company to reveal locations of its factories in Bangladesh.
A week before the blaze, a Bangladeshi government auditor told Aswad the factory was "dangerous to human life and security".
The building had been enlarged without approval, fire extinguishers were not properly maintained and the building lacked ventilation.
The families of those killed have been compensated by Palmal 700,000 taka ($9500).
The minimum wage for a garment factory worker was recently raised to 5300 taka a month, but remains among the lowest in the world.
Woolworths refused to comment on whether it had offered compensation to victims' families.
Woolworths' move intensifies pressure on retailers such as Target and Pacific Brands to keep their promise of publishing the locations of factories they sought product from in Bangladesh.
The Aswad fire was the latest in a series of industrial disasters in Bangladesh's massive but poorly-regulated garment industry.
Five fires and building collapses killed more than 1200 workers in the 12 months to last October.
The decision by Woolworths to reveal its source factories ramps up pressure on other retailers to do the same.
Kmart was the first Australian company to list its Bangladeshi supplier factories, late last year.
It has since added factories in Cambodia, India and Indonesia.
Target said it would publish its factory list this year, with Indian and Chinese factories to follow.
It was ''on track'' to keep its commitment, said spokesman Jim Cooper. It is a signatory of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.
The Cotton On Group, also a signatory, said publishing its list was a ''priority''. ''[We] are giving it serious consideration and we have consulted with Oxfam to be guided through,'' a spokeswoman said.
Pacific Brands, with brands such as Bonds and Berlei, said it would post a list this year, but has not yet done so.
As a signatory, it disclosed its Bangladeshi suppliers to the accord, which later published a broader list.
The Just Group, with brands such as Just Jeans and Portmans, has signed the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which Oxfam describes as weak and not legally binding.
It has not signed the accord, and refuses to publish its factory list.
BBN/ANS-04June14-10:30pm (BST)