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Fair conditions?

June 3, 2013

The deaths of hundreds of people in unsafe factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia have thrown the spotlight on working conditions in developing countries - and the western retailers that benefit from them.

https://p.dw.com/p/18bWg
Bangladeshi relatives hold photos of the missing and dead workers three days after an eight-storey building collapsed in Dhaka on April 27, 2013 (Photo: Munir Uz Zaman)
Image: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images

When an unsafe garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed last month, claiming over a thousand lives, it not only sparked widespread unrest in the country - culminating in violent protests - it also put sustainability in the global textile industry back on the agenda.

A deal signed by 31 mainly European retail chains pledged to make garment factories safer in the country, but a similar incident in a Cambodian sneaker factory - where two people were killed and 10 injured - showed that the problem is deeper and cannot be solved overnight. We take a closer look.

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Reports & Analysis

Cambodian garment factory workers toil at the W&D garment factory, just southeast of Phnom Penh, April 28, 2004. (AP Photo/Isabelle Lesser)

Work safety

Cambodian textile factories are advised to check safety after a series of accidents.
May 30, 2013
external

Bangladesh disaster prompts reforms

In a meeting in Switzerland, major clothing chains have agreed to improved standards for Bangladesh factories. But US companies are reluctant, fearing lawsuits.
May 17, 201301:27 min

Factory deaths

The deaths of at least two Cambodian garment workers shines a light on global conditions.
May 16, 2013
external

Two killed in Cambodia factory collapse

At least two people are dead and six injured after the ceiling of a Cambodian shoe factory collapsed. Investigators say that heavy equipment stored on the floor above caused the ceiling to buckle.
May 16, 201301:29 min
Rescue workers attempt to find survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, around 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH - Tags: DISASTER BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT)

Factory closures

Protests are growing louder after the collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh.
May 15, 2013
Workers at sewing machines at a garment factory in Dhaka (ddp images/AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

SMS for better working conditions?

Adidas has set up an SMS hotline for its workers in the factories of its Asian suppliers.
May 9, 2013
A rescue worker stands in front of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka April 26, 2013. The search for survivors from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident stretched into a third day on Friday, with the death toll rising to 273 after the collapse of the building housing factories that made low-cost garments for Western brands. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH - Tags: DISASTER)

Bangladesh looks for answers

Another illegally constructed building collapses in Bangladesh costing many innocent lives.
April 29, 2013
Girl in a spinning works (photo: picture-alliance/Godong)

Slave labor

Young women are mistreated in some Indian textile factories in the Tamil Nadu state.
January 7, 2013
Greenpeace activists display a big banner that reads 'Zara, detox your fashion' in November 2012. Copyright: EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

Toxic textiles

Greenpeace finds toxic substances in the textiles of major European clothing producers.
November 25, 2012