Did you see last night's Four Corners? Reporters uncovered the shocking news that major Australian clothing companies are buying clothes from suppliers that knowingly put their workers' lives at risk every single day. Workers in Bangladesh, most of whom are young women, are paying a high price -- sometimes the ultimate one -- so that major corporations can save a few pennies on their products. 

Worse still, brands like Coles and Rivers are refusing to sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord to protect their workers. Kmart, Target, and dozens of other brands have signed onto the Accord, which would mandate that brands pay a little bit more in order to finance basic safety upgrades like installing working fire extinguishers and independent building inspections.

Let's take this moment, when the media spotlight is shining on the atrocious working conditions in Bangladesh, to push for Coles and Rivers to join its counterparts and sign the Accord now.

Tell Coles and Rivers to protect their Bangladeshi workers from death traps and sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord.

Australians have heard these stories and want to help stop these disasters. A recent Oxfam survey found 70% of us would pay a few cents more for their clothes if they knew the overseas workers who made them were protected. But retailers only care about their bottom lines, so let's give them a reason to care. If thousands of us band together now, we can show Coles and Rivers that their carefully crafted brands are at risk if they don't join the Accord. 

In the last year and half, there have been 48 serious fires and other disasters in garment factories in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza building collapse two months ago, that claimed over 1,100 lives, was only the latest. But despite the repeated tragedies, retailers continue to look the other way while the problems, and deaths, mount. And the problem is only going to get worse. In the past 5 years, Australian companies have increased their garment production in Bangladesh by 1,500 percent in order to take advantage of the worst paid workers in the world.

The Bangladesh Safety Accord guarantees truly independent factory inspections, creates a complaint system that allow workers to report dangerous conditions without fear of reprisal from their bosses, and provides funding to ensure that garment factories have basic safety infrastructure. And because it's legally binding, brands can't dodge responsibility if their supplier fails to meet international standards. The Accord represents a sea change in the Bangladesh garment industry, and it only adds pennies to the cost of a t-shirt.

Coles and Rivers cannot just stand aside and stay quiet while its clothes are made in such dangerous conditions. We've seen that they won’t voluntarily protect Bangladeshi workers making their clothes, but if thousands of us come together, we can get them to do the right thing.

Tell Coles and Rivers that they must sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.

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More Information:

Australian retailers Rivers, Coles, Target, Kmart linked to Bangladesh factory worker abuse, ABC, 24 June 2013

'Right now we have nothing', Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 2013. 

Coles, Rivers urged to sign Safety Accord, Herald Sun, 25 June 2013.