Dive Brief:
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Italian apparel retailer Benetton Saturday pledged $1.1 million to a fund established for victims of the devastating 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 workers.
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Benneton was one of several retailers that had previously downplayed or denied any association with that factory.
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Shahidullah Azim, VP of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said Benetton’s pledge was welcome, if late.
Dive Insight:
Shahidullah Azim’s group has been working hard to pressure retailers and assist victims of the high-profile garment factory disaster two years ago; his group so far as only collected some $23 million in pledges from retailers for a fund that promised $30 million.
Azim, like others, has also worked to try to shift the discussion to more fair working conditions, which requires consumers in the U.S. and other wealthier countries to pay more for their clothing. And he's in the position of still trying to get retailers to admit their own part in allowing the conditions at Rana Plaza and collect the funds the victims and their families need.
"Benetton's contribution is part of it, and I am sure some other companies will also fulfill their commitment to the fund to reach the target of $30 million," he said Saturday.