VF Corp announces safety initiative in Bangladesh

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Sep 4, 2014

VF Corp has joined with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to put together a 10 million dollar fund for Bangladesh.

According to the American apparel giant (Vans, Timberland, The North Face, Wrangler…), the fund should allow its subcontractors in Bangladesh to obtain loans from 100,000 to 1 million dollars at reasonable cost to perform important upgrades. The stated objective is to improve working conditions and the safety of employees in the apparel industry.

The American group, like many of its compatriots, joined the Alliance for Worker Safety Bangladesh, which was established following the collapse of the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka, in which 1,138 workers were killed and over 2,000 were wounded.

Another organization that unites another set of international companies was also created following the tragedy with the same objectives in mind. The rivalry between the two associations recently turned to ridicule. .

Beyond the delays on the ground, VF Corp, which states on its site “wecare” that it has been present in Bangladesh for almost 20 years and that it is committed to improving the working conditions of employees, has announced an investment of 17 million euros to go toward the cause.