It happened on April 23, 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where more than four million garment workers were employed. Rana Plaza housed garment factories for various major Western clothing brands such as Mango, Benetton, Walmart, Auchan, C&A or Carrefour. After the discovery of deep cracks in the building’s walls, the stores and bank on the lower floors were immediately closed, while the fashion workers were forced to return to the factories on the upper floors. The next morning, the power failed, prompting the rooftop diesel generators to come on line. This failure was in fact a sign that the building, built on unsuitable land and to which additional floors had been added illegally, was in the process of collapsing. In just 90 seconds, the entire building collapsed, killing at least 1,134 people and injuring more than 2,500.
An Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was put in place in the wake of this dramatic event in May 2013. The agreement included an extensive inspection program, corrective action plans, a commitment by the brands to provide sufficient funds to remedy the situation, and the establishment of a complaints mechanism.
Ten long years have already passed, and despite some efforts, the factors that caused the collapse of Rana Plaza are still at the root of the global fashion industry: low prices, low wages, factories working in overcapacity to meet urgent orders, the suppression of trade unions…
