Between October 14 – 19, Bangladesh’s garment industry was hit by devastating blazes that killed workers (including 7 children) and destroyed $1bn worth of garments made for export markets, exposing the deadly reality behind cheap fashion.
Read on to discover what happened, why it keeps happening, and what you can do to demand better.
Tuesday 14 October
16 workers were killed as fire broke out in a garment factory in the Mirpur region of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
Most deaths were caused by toxic fumes from the adjacent chemical warehouse, which had no license to operate or fire safety clearance.
Child labour legal in Bangladesh
Devastatingly, seven of the garment workers missing or killed were between the ages of 13 and 18.
Child labour is legal in Bangladesh from age of 14, limited to 5 hours per day – though these regulations are often ignored.
Many victims were recent school dropouts working full shifts with overtime for below minimum wage.
Thursday 16 October
Two days later, another fire started in a seven-storey garment factory in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone.
Thanks to a fire alarm, workers were able to escape.
Sunday 19 October
A 27-hour fire devastated the storage area of the country’s biggest airport.
An estimated $1 billion of shipments were destroyed, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
This fire is devastating for garment exporters as 80% of Bangladesh’s exports are clothing, and this is the peak export season.
Unsafe manufacturing hub
Bangladesh’s garment industry is worth $47 billion annually, yet garment workers are underpaid and work under unsafe working conditions.
Big fires are common, caused by bad safety enforcement and poor infrastructure.
“I spoke to the factory guard. He said it was too smoky, so he fled, leaving the others locked inside.
Everyone told me the door was padlocked. Why was there a lock on the door? The workers, including my sister, could have ran out and saved their lives.” – Laizu Begum, sister of missing factory worker
Rana Plaza collapse
The 2013 Rana Plaza Collapse was Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster, killing 1,134 garment workers.
This sparked global outrage and led to the formation of Fashion Revolution – an activism movement built on the belief that no one should die for fashion.
What can you do?
Help build the fashion system you want by voting with your wallet:
- Buy second-hand rather than new
- Avoid fast fashion
- Educate yourself and those around you. If you like our Explainers, you’ll love the full-length articles on our website
Sources
ABC News
Al Jazeera
BBC
The Daily Star
Fashion Revolution
Textile Focus
Credits
- Feature image by Shariful Islam, via Xinhua and Landov, of garment workers and relatives of the victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse
- Read more of our Explainers here
