Walmart has decided to improve its inspection standards at Bangladesh factories, according to a Bloomberg News tweet. The retail giant had faced pressure to make such a move in the aftermath of a Bangladesh factory collapse that claimed more than 1,100 lives. The tweet from Bloomberg News reads:
The company's announcement comes as it faces pressure to join an agreement signed by several major European apparel brands to accept binding standards in Bangladesh.
As part of its initiative Walmart will pay for inspections at 279 factories, the Wall Street Journal reports and will make those results available to the public, Bloomberg reports.
Upon hearing the news, Scott Nova, the executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium in Washington, told the Wall Street Journal:
Wal-Mart's ruthless drive for low production costs regardless of consequences of workers has been single biggest contributor to working conditions in Bangladesh.
Reuters reports:
Wal-Mart said it would also have Bureau Veritas provide fire safety training for every worker in every factory in Bangladesh that produces its goods. Bureau Veritas is a European testing and inspection company that, on behalf of Wal-Mart, assesses factories and trains workers in Bangladesh.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, began more rigorous inspections earlier this year after more than 110 people were killed in a November 2012 fire in a factory that was producing goods for Wal-Mart and other retailers.
Wal-Mart said the inspections would be completed in the next six months and that it would begin posting inspection results on June 1.
"Transparency is vital to make progress in improving factory conditions, and by disclosing this information, government, workers, non-governmental agencies, and companies can benefit from this work," Rajan Kamalanathan, Wal-Mart's vice president of ethical sourcing, said in a statement.
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