The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, the platform of North American fashion brands and retailers, has suspended four more Bangladeshi readymade garment factories from its supplier list on charge of noncompliance with the safety standard. The initiative, meanwhile, withdrew suspension of a factory as the unit started required remediation works. Out of latest suspended four factories, two failed to submit design documents of the factory buildings and provide evidence of remediation while another two were suspended due to closure. The factories are: Global Trousers Ltd and Uponti Apparels Ltd in Chittagong, V & R Fashions Ltd in Gazipur and The Dacca Dyeing Garments Ltd in the Dhaka city. The platform, however, did not publish the name of the factory which has been included on the supplier list after being suspended on March 8 this year. With the effect of the latest course of action the number of suspended factories by the Alliance now stands at 91. After the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, North American retailers, including top brands Walmart and Gap, formed the Alliance undertaking a five-year plan which set timelines and accountability for inspections and training and workers’ empowerment programmes. The Alliance has so far inspected 870 factories.
