Going it alone
While the arguments made by campaign groups are hard to refute, there remain organisations which choose not to be a part of the Accord’s work but nevertheless are not ignoring the issues which led to the now infamous Rana Plaza collapse.
Not being an Accord signatory has at times simply been equated to disregarding CSR issues entirely, and subsequently has led to companies being targeted by protesters and campaign groups for a perceived lack of heart.
2018 for example saw Abercrombie & Fitch stores across the United States become the subject of protests from workers’ rights campaigners due to the firm opting not to sign up to the ‘Bangladesh Accord 2.0’.
The American fashion retailer wasn’t forthcoming in its reasons for not subscribing to the Accord, but others were more open.
With its global home furnishings empire, IKEA is one of the world’s largest textile retailers. Many of its materials are sourced in Bangladesh, and it was this fact which prompted Clean Clothes campaign to challenge the Swedish retailer in 2018 over its non-membership of the Accord.
We spoke to Torbjörn Ellesson, IKEA’s sustainability manager for purchasing & logistics, who explained that the company in no way opposes the regulatory body, but rather sees its own system as a method of more consistent governance.
“IKEA welcomes the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and thinks it is great that more companies engage in improving safety for workers in Bangladesh. IKEA has been working with safety and co-worker rights intensively since 2000 when we developed our code of conduct for suppliers, IWAY.
“It comprises the IKEA minimum requirements relating to the environment and social & working conditions, including child labour. The methodology is unique with its three levels of announced and unannounced auditing from both internal and external auditing organisations to secure compliance.
“As a global brand with more than 1000 suppliers, it is very important for IKEA to create clarity towards our suppliers with regard to the expectations that we have and consistency in the way that we will work together. IWAY provides this for all suppliers globally.”
In addition to the cohesion IWAY affords IKEA throughout its textile supply chains, Ellesson suggested that a firm of IKEA’s size couldn’t possibly sign up to the plethora of signatory- or membership-led industry endeavours around the world.
“In other words,” he stated, “as a global company it’s not possible for us to follow all different industry or geographical initiatives. That is why IWAY is the most suitable system for us and that is why we at all times want IWAY to reflect the highest standards.”
With issues of social compliance, just like the sustainability challenges which often plague textiles production, there is rarely a single solve-all solution. Organisations like the Accord can only shoulder a certain amount of the burden, with a much broader approach required to truly transform an industry which powers a nation.
The progress achieved by the Accord has, on the most part, made the Bangladeshi RMG sector unrecognisable from its state in 2013. Whether it will continue this overhaul and where its final destination will be, only time will tell.
