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Articles on Rana Plaza

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A recent investigation into Lululemon casts doubt on the ability of Canada’s new Modern Slavery Act to tackle labour abuse. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Learning from Lululemon: If Canada wants to get serious about forced labour, disclosure laws won’t do

A new study suggests disclosure laws to prevent forced labour in the clothing industry are a form of window dressing designed to ease the conscience of consumers rather than protecting workers.
Bangladeshi volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations 48 hours after the Rana Plaza garment building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 26, 2013. Munir Uz Zaman/AFP

10 years after the Rana Plaza collapse, fashion has yet to slow down

Ten years after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, scholars find slow fashion practices hold the keys to a more sustainable, joyful relationship with clothes.
Activists in Dhaka demand safe working conditions in 2019, on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse. Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Fast fashion still comes with deadly risks, 10 years after the Rana Plaza disaster – the industry’s many moving pieces make it easy to cut corners

Ten years after the collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the garment industry’s deadliest disaster, reforms are incomplete. The opaqueness of today’s complex supply chain is part of the problem.
That cheap statement piece comes at a price: the industry has a ‘murderous disregard for human life.’ (Clockwise: AP/Mahmud Hossain; AP/Ismail Ferdous; Unsplash/Markus Spiske; Unsplash/Clem Onojeghuo)

Fast Fashion: Why garment workers’ lives are still in danger 10 years after Rana Plaza — Podcast

We look back to the 2013 Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,124 people and discuss how much — or how little — has changed for garment-worker conditions today.
In this picture taken June 14, 2013, Henna Begum holds a picture of her daughter Akhi Akhter, a garment worker in the Rana Plaza building in Savar when it collapsed. Kevin Frayer/AP

Years after the Rana Plaza tragedy, Bangladesh’s garment workers are still bottom of the pile

The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse is the clothing industry’s worst ever industrial incident. Not enough has changed for garment workers.
Consumers should ask: “who made my clothes” so that they remember the modern slavery conditions imposed on many garment workers. Shutterstock

Fashion production is modern slavery: 5 things you can do to help now

Fashion Revolution week puts a spotlight on the modern slavery conditions of the fashion industry and encourages fashion consumers to ask, “who made my clothes.”
In this April 2013 file photo, Bangladeshi rescue workers search for victims amid the rubble of a collapsed building in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. A new study shows a gender gap in how female and male business students viewed the role that business played in the disaster. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

How current and future business executives link sustainability and global strife

In a recent survey, Alberta business students believed that sustainability should be embedded in business education. That could signal a shift in views on the integration of profit, planet and people.
Spanish activists protest against retailers using factories in a building in Bangladesh which collapsed, killing more than 600 people. Reuters/Albert Gea

How divestment campaigns can change the rules in a profit-driven world

“Shaming campaigns” have been successful in attracting attention to transnational issues like inhumane working conditions and environmental degradation. But shaming guilty corporations is only the first step.
Unsafe factories are all too common in Bangladesh, where change depends on global pressure. Abir Abdullah/EPA

Push to curb activists may add to sweatshop workers’ struggle

In late 2012, at least 117 workers died in a garment factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Kalpona Akter, a union activist from Dhaka, and Sumi Abedin, a survivor of the fire, retold their stories at an Oxfam-sponsored…
Twelve months after the devastating factory collapse in Bangladesh, safety regulations are still not up to scratch. EPA/Abir Abdullah

One year on from Rana Plaza collapse, work still to be done

One year ago on the 24th of April 2013, the horrific Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh claimed at least 1,129 lives and galvanised industry and government into action. Worldwide condemnation for lax safety…
Civilians rescue an injured worker after the eight-storey Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 24. AAP

Mind the gap: company disclosure discrepancies not sustainable

The recent decision by two Australian retailers to sign an accord protecting suppliers in Bangladesh has highlighted discrepancies in company disclosure of sustainability issues and the need for clearer…

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