The clothing company Benetton has announced it is contributing $1.1m (£740,000) to a compensation fund for the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster, a week before the second anniversary of the Bangladeshi factory building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers. It makes the Italian firm the last major western fashion retailer that sourced clothing from the eight-floor building in Dhaka to donate to the fund backed by the UN’s International Labour Organisation. However, campaigners are bitterly disappointed that the total remains $8m short of an original $30m target. They had called for Benetton – which promised a donation several weeks ago – to make up the entire balance. The company, which initially denied using any firms located in the factory complex, said it was donating double the amount advised by the accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Rana Plaza: one year on from the Bangladesh factory disaster Read more The PwC report calculated the amount brands should contribute to the fund based on the $30m target and their share of production at the factory. Benetton’s share was 1.8%.
The figure was endorsed separately by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), a US-based NGO specialising in social compliance through global supply chains. Ineke Zeldenrust, a spokesman for the Clean Clothes Campaign, said: “Benetton had a real opportunity to emerge as a leader and prove that its pledges of empathy, understanding and care for the welfare of the victims were not just some PR spin. Unfortunately, the true colours of Benetton are now revealed.” Zeldenrust questioned the WRAP report, saying: “WRAP is an industry sponsored social auditing and certification organisation with one of the worst track records in the industry. The Garib and Garib factory, for example, that went up in flames in Dhaka in 2010, was WRAP certified at the time.” Benetton’s contribution comes after more than 1m people signed a petition on the campaigning site Avaaz calling for the Italian label to donate alongside other western brands linked to the world’s deadliest clothing industry accident. Benetton faces renewed pressure over Rana Plaza victims’ fund Avaaz’s campaign director, Dalia Hashad, said: “Benetton is not giving nearly enough to ease the death and suffering their clothes have caused.” She said the payment set a precedent for other global brands that had not contributed to the fund, adding: “When workers die, you cannot walk away.” Benetton said its total contribution was $1.6m as it had also helped the victims via its own support programme in partnership with BRAC, an NGO in Bangladesh. The company said it has also agreed to raise working conditions and living standards for workers in the garment industry across its global supply chain. Benetton said it would apply the principles of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to producers in other global markets. Marco Airoldi, Benetton’s chief executive, said: “While there is no real redress for the tragic loss of life, we hope that this robust and clear mechanism for calculating compensation could be used more widely. For this reason, we decided to make the PwC report publicly available to all stakeholders.” Rana Plaza: are fashion brands responsible for those they don’t directly employ? On the second anniversary of the disaster on 24 April, the Fashion Revolution campaign will encourage consumers in 68 different countries to ask questions about where their clothes are made. In the UK, it is backed by well-known figures such as the model Lily Cole and the ethical fashion supporter Livia Firth.
