VF Corp presents Alliance achievements in Bangladesh

The VF Corporation, owner of brands such as the North Face, Wrangler and Timberland,

gave a progress report on Thursday about the safety and working conditions at its supplier factories in Bangladesh. The company is a founding member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance), which recently published its first annual report.

According to the statement, “during the past 13 months, VF, in collaboration with the Alliance, has made measurable progress in the areas of factory inspections and repairs, and worker training and empowerment initiatives, in addition to providing significant financial resources to ensure worker support and safety”.

On the factory inspection side, a Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard has been developed and implemented with seven local companies having been hired to conduct independent inspections. The inspections of all 587 member factories are finished and the full or partial closure of ten of them due to safety concerns has been recommended. The Alliance is currently working on a publication and website listing the information about all factory inspections and corrective action measures.

In terms of training, the Alliance developed the Alliance Basic Fire Safety Training module and trained more than one million workers and managers in basic fire safety. It also hosted a first international trade expo on building and fire safety in Dhaka.

The Alliance members have backed over 100 million US dollars in capital for safety improvements in their respective supply chains and have formalized direct loans to factories. According to the report, the Alliance also doubled the duration of compensation provided to displaced workers from two to four months and disbursed wages to approximately 1,000 workers displaced by factory remediation to date.

Last but not least, in terms of worker empowerment, the Alliance conducted a survey with more than 3,200 Bangladeshi workers and a follow-up survey with almost 700 of them to assess worker awareness and started a worker helpline in 50 factories. It appointed three Bangladeshi labor leaders to its board of advisors and created a board committee comprised of seven trade union leaders dedicated exclusively to labor issues. Worker representatives were also invited to be part of the factory inspection process and the Alliance Members Agreement was amended to include a worker’s right to refuse unsafe work.

“We are proud of our recent accomplishments and those of the Alliance in Bangladesh, but there is still much work to be done. We will continue to collaborate with The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and with the Bangladeshi government, labor unions, garment workers, factory owners and other like-minded organizations to make the factories in Bangladesh safer for all workers,” said VF chairman, president and CEO Eric Wiseman.

As an Alliance member and through independent actions, VF has pledged to spend at least 17 million US dollars in the near future to improve working conditions in Bangladesh. The Alliance is comprised of 26 apparel and retail companies, among them Costco, Gap, Macy’s, Target and Walmart, and is the North American equivalent to the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which consists of over 150 signatories, mainly European apparel brands and retailers as well as union members.