The Walt Disney Company, once stopped its sourcing from Bangladesh in 2013 amid the fire and building collapse disasters, has considered including the country in its Permitted Sourcing Country list with ILS (International Labor Standard) audits.
The information came from a trusted source, but the official notification from Disney is yet to be published.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan welcomed the timely and welcoming move by Walt Disney in recognition of the all-out progress and transformation in the industry, particularly in the area of workplace safety, social standards and environmental sustainability, said a BGMEA press release today.
Factories participating in the ILO’s Better Work Bangladesh program will be entitled to become a vendor, while they need to participate in the Nirapon or RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) along with specific remediation fulfilment criteria.
Over the past years, the industry has made unprecedented efforts and investments to ensure safety covering fire, electrical and structural integrity, a robust follow up of factory remediation, to create a culture of safety while promoting the wellbeing of the workers.
The release said the entire safety transformation program was supported and facilitated by the Government of Bangladesh, ILO, international brands, manufacturers and the global unions in a transparent manner.
The Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider “QIMA” ranked Bangladesh as the 2nd highest Ethical Manufacturing country in its recent report “QIMA Q1 2021 Barometer”.
The rating included performance against parameters like hygiene, health and safety, child and young labour, labour practices including forced labour, worker representation, disciplinary practices and discrimination, working hours and wages, and waste management.
The study was conducted at a time when COVID disrupted the global fashion industry and supply chain and maintaining such a level of compliance testifies our resilience and commitment.
In addition, the progress made in the areas of cleaner and greener manufacturing testifies the industry’s commitment and actions toward building a sustainable supply chain.
The country is the home of the world’s most LEED green factories, having 144 LEED green factories certified by USGBC, of which 41 are platinum, earns the confidence of the global brands and consumers through its tireless efforts in the past decade.
