Adecade ago, more than 1,100 people died when Rana Plaza, an 8-story factory in Bangledesh, collapsed. Workers, noticing cracks in the structure for weeks, begged management not to be sent inside the building, but to no avail. Once it began to fail, it took less than 90 seconds for the building to crumble.
The incident, which union leaders called a “mass industrial homicide,” illuminated issues of fair labor practices and has been the impetus of a number of changes in the retail space. Global organizations took action to create safer working standards, and workplace resolutions now often show up in retailers’ environmental, social and governance reports, which are becoming increasingly important to investors and other stakeholders.
