Rana Plaza six years on: what next for apparel supply chains in Bangladesh?

David Schilling, senior programme director at the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility, discusses with Ian Welsh the challenges for apparel sector businesses that remain six years on from the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh.

Schilling explains why the Bangladesh government is keen to move on from the company-led Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety that developed after the disaster, and outlines his concerns for the next steps. They debate how brands can use their leverage to ensure the progress made over the past six years continues to be built on, and how the investment community is changing its approach to labour issues.

Listeners should note that on 19th May, after this interview was recorded, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court accepted an agreement reached by the Accord and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and supported by the government to allow the Accord to operate for another year as a transition to the establishment of a Ready Made Garment (RMG) Sustainability Council which will include global brands, trade unions and the BGMEA. Click here for a statement from the Accord.