ActionAid will present the 85,000 strong petition today, Wednesday August 14 @ 12.30pm at Best&Less HQ at Level 4, 3 Rider Boulevard Rhodes NSW 2138. Media are welcome to attend.
Workers’ rights campaigners at ActionAid will deliver a petition with 85,000 signatures to the HQ of clothing chain Best&Less supporting Bangladeshi garment workers today (Wednesday August 14 @ 12.30pm).
Best&Less, alone out of Australia’s main clothing labels, has refused to sign an Accord which ensures minimum safety standards at Bangladeshi clothing factories.
Brands like Big W, Kmart, and The Iconic have signed the Accord which ensures minimum safety standards at Bangladeshi clothing factories.
Clothing factories in Asia are notoriously dangerous. 11 years ago, one collapsed crushing 1,128 garment workers, many of them women.
Workers had reported cracks in the Rana Plaza building in the days before it collapsed, but management ignored them.
The International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry employs independent inspectors to visit hundreds of Bangladeshi factories used by brands like Cotton On and Rivers. But they don't necessarily monitor factories that produce for companies like Best&Less that aren’t part of the Accord.
In this way Best&Less freeloads on the good work of Aussie brands that contribute to ensure women who work in the garment industry in Bangladesh come home to their families.
Best&Less has recently been sourcing garments from factories like Knit Horizon and Sayam Knit, in Dhaka, that have significant safety issues.
Inspections of Knit Horizon have found cracking on beams and slabs, and fire exit doors with dangerous locking features.
Sayam Knit inspections found building columns stressed at a high level and even cracks in beams.
Best&Less was unaware of these safety issues until they were brought to their attention by ActionAid in 2024. Its website shows it has since stopped sourcing from Knit Horizon.
While Best&Less says they have their own system of safety auditing, the Rana Plaza building also passed a safety inspection shortly before collapsing. One report said that the Rana Plaza building was of ‘good construction quality.’
Only the Accord safety program is set up as a truly independent auditing system with no conflict of interest.
ActionAid Executive Director Michelle Higelin said it’s time for Best&Less to act.
“It’s time for Best&Less to step up, they told us in early 2023 they were going to sign the Accord but somewhere in the back end of last year they lost their resolve,” Ms Higelin said,
“Well now 85,000 people have signed a petition calling on them to do the right thing.
“Best&Less can’t ignore this, we know for a fact they have been blocking emails from concerned Australians about this topic, it’s time for them to prove their commitment to their workers’ safety and take action.
“Best&Less needs to do the right thing and sign the Accord for workers so Australian shoppers can be assured the clothes they are buying aren’t putting workers’ lives at risk.
“We know Australians care because over 85,000 people have put their signatures on our petition calling on Best&Less to sign on to the Accord.
Contact details:
Anil Lambert 0416 426 722