B: Bangladesh

With approximately 28 euros per month per month it has the lowest minimum wage in the world for factory workers. Between 2006 and 2012 more than 800 clothing factory workers have been killed as a result of fire and building violations. An estimated 4500 textile factories in the country are unsafe. And although officially banned, the deadly sandblasting technique is still in use in sweatshops. These are some of the sad facts about the 15 billion euro textile industry in Bangladesh.

These unfair labour practices, although taking place in a distant country, are not unrelated to our wardrobes. Bangladesh is among the top three producers of European clothing. H&M is the largest buyer of clothing in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza factory disaster, which killed over 1000 garment workers in April 2013, demonstrated unequivocally that Bangladeshi factories produce for high street retailers such as Zara and Benetton.

So what can be done to make things better? In Spring 2013, the Dutch government announced its intention to coordinate international donations and efforts to improve factory safety in Bangladesh for the next two years, which would result in a widely shared action plan. In the meantime, a growing number of international fashion retailers, including H&M, C&A, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, have signed the binding Fire and Building Safety Agreement which was initiated by the Clean Clothes Campaign amongst others.

Worryingly, companies such as Disney have announced to stop producing in Bangladesh, and move business to countries such as Myanmar and Thailand. Obviously this wouldn’t help garment workers in Bangladesh, nor contribute to fair labour practices in its rival developing countries. Another challenge concerns our clothing shopping habits. A Dutch survey held a mere week after the Rana Plaza factory collapse revealed that just 24% of consumers intend to check clothing labels in shops in order to see where an item was made. No more than 1% of Dutch consumers think they are responsible for the Rana Plaza tragedy. The majority of respondents says it’s primarily up to the Bangladesh government and factory owners to take action.

The good news is that the Dhaka factory collapse has put the labour rights situation in Bangladesh's garment industry firmly on the agenda of governments, brands, retailers as well as consumers. This awareness could put the spotlights on fashion labels that are producing ethically in Bangladesh, such as Tulsi Crafts and People Tree. And surely once Western consumers become familiar with the appeal of these types of brands, they will be more likely to embrace sustainable collections in favour of the cheap, fast fashion that is at the root of the problems in the Bangladesh garment industry?