North American Retailers Work on Separate Bangladesh Plan.
Source: nyt/reuters
North American retailers may join together on their own Bangladesh safety agreement, an alternative to a legally binding accord that mainly European retailers have signed onto, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
The National Retail Federation, one of the largest U.S. retail trade associations, is set to speak on Tuesday afternoon with other trade associations and its member companies about a possible accord among North American retailers, according to the person.
Three weeks after the collapse of a building housing garment factories, which killed more than 1,100 people, Western brands that rely on Bangladesh to produce clothing cheaply disagree over how best to ensure worker safety. . .
Major European retailers such as Sweden's H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Spain's Inditex SA have signed onto an accord ahead of a May 15 deadline. That accord was put together by labour groups including Europe's IndustriALL and UNI Global Union and non-governmental organizations.
However, as of Tuesday the only major U.S. company to announce its full support was PVH Corp, whose brands include Calvin Klein. Gap Inc said it was ready to sign onto the accord, but only with a change in the way disputes are resolved in the courts.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/05/14/business/14reuters-bangladesh-retailers-northamerica.html?hp
= new reply since forum marked as read
Hmmm. Sounds like corporate self-policing.
