Garment factory workers in Bangladesh ask you to put pressure on fashion retailers to improve their working conditions and wages - NOT to stop buying their products.
I was introduced to Amirul Haque Amin of the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) 6 years ago, in my capacity as the founder and director Global Village, People Tree's sister NGO organisation (which based is Japan). Since then we have been giving NGWF financial support and working together to campaign for the rights of garment factory workers in Bangladesh.
I remember this time last year being stood up by Amin - who is never late for a meeting. Unable to get through to him, I knew something was up.
Spectrum Factory illegally constructed 30km from Dhaka had collapsed killing 64 people and injuring 74. The factory was making orders for Inditex, the owner of Zara and other brands. Amin had been called out in the middle of the night when the disaster struck - people were still being pulled out of the rubble when he arrived. The NGWF organised to take the factory management to court and to fight for workers outstanding wages and severance pay.
Zara set up a fund for £35,000 to provide some compensation to workers' families and the injured, "a very small price to pay for life", but this is more than other brands have done, many of which have not yet given a penny.
People Tree immediately sent over US$2,000 additional funds and launched the People Tree and Global Village 'Fair Trade NOW' wrist band in Japan, to help fund NGWF campaigns for safer factories and garment workers' rights.
But there is still a great deal of work to do; textile factory tragedies happen all too frequently in Bangladesh.
