The International Accord was renewed in 2023 as a framework for another three-year term with automatic renewal for three years. This makes it the longest commitment in the Accord’s history.
The Accord is a legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions and aims to create and maintain garment factories where workers do not need to fear fires, building collapse or other accidents that can be prevented with health and safety measures.
The 300 signatories source garments worth approximately $26bn from Bangladesh and Pakistan, sourcing from more than 2,000 factories staffed by over 3.4m workers.
Joris Oldenziel, executive director at the International Accord, said in a statement: “This is the highest number of brands that we have to date. This represents a very strong commitment to workplace health and safety to ensure that workers who are producing your clothes can work in safe factories.
“Under the Accord, we implement the program at 2,000 factories covering 3.4 million workers in both Pakistan and Bangladesh. We do that through safety inspections, monitoring remediation, worker training and providing access to remedy.
“Over the last couple of years, the brands in particular, together with their suppliers, have taken very concrete steps to identify, prevent and mitigate safety risks. For example, thousands of fire doors have been installed, fire alarms have been installed, building structures have been strengthened and safety committees have been trained.”
However, Oldenziel added: “At the same time, we do see there are still reports of accidents and fires happening on a regular basis in garment factories. Therefore, the continued commitment from the brands to the Accord is as important now as it was a decade ago. For the workers themselves, of course, but also for the brands to fulfil their human rights due diligence responsibilities.”
Last year, at least 16 people were killed after a fire broke out in a garment factory in Dhaka, with the International Accord on Factory Safety telling Just Style the incident was a "stark reminder of the devastating human cost of inadequate safety measures."
