During recent factory inspections, Bangladesh’s Accord on Fire and Building Safety found a factory in Mirpur to be critically unsafe, and is currently seeking to cease production there and evacuate the workers.
At Florence Fashions Ltd., 284 Ibrahimpur, Mirpur, Dhaka, which produces product for an Accord signatory, identified safety violations deemed “critical findings” and said the factory was unfit for production and occupancy in its current state.
The Accord is a legally binding agreement designed to better working conditions at factories in Bangladesh, and more than 170 brands and retailers including Fast Retailing, H&M and PVH have signed onto the effort. Accord rules require that production be halted at any factory exhibiting critical safety violations.
Florence Fashions’ owner has been informed of the findings and the Accord has asked for operations to be suspended. The factory is said to have made arrangements to produce the Accord brand products at alternative approved factories, however, they continue to produce other non-Accord products in the factory and employees are still working under the adverse conditions.
In a statement from the Accord, the organization said it felt compelled to disclose the information and that it would continue to work with Florence Fashions factory owners to evacuate the workers and perform necessary remediation so the factory will be able to resume full production and call on workers to return.