Globalization Responsible for Factory Tragedy

A year has passed since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex that killed more than 1100 workers – the worst accident in Bangladesh history. Activists in Bangladesh report some improvements in wages, inspections and worker training. Yet wealthy consumers around the globe fail to see the connection between their quest for affordable fashion and the workers who toil for low wages and endure horrific conditions in countries that minimize regulation and enforcement. Only half the clothing firms that relied on Rana Plaza have contributed to a compensation fund for victims. “The tragedy has galvanized labor rights activists in Bangladesh to campaign both at home and abroad for improvements to working conditions and wages in the textiles industry, which has an abysmal safety record,” writes Grahame Lucas for Deutsche Welle. Fashion houses have shifted more orders to Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries with weak regulation, a move that evades what Lucas calls the “responsibility for the consequences of globalization.” – YaleGlobal