"How learnings from Rana Plaza are being rolled out in Pakistan", 24 April 2024

The catastrophic scale — and preventable nature — of the Rana Plaza collapse on 24 April 2013 made it a watershed moment for the fashion industry. It led to the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a groundbreaking, legally binding framework between global brands and trade unions to improve workplace conditions for garment workers in the country.

A year ago, in another landmark moment, the Accord was rolled out in Pakistan.

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Signatory brands committed to ensuring sufficient funds were available for remediation — all while allowing for democratically elected health and safety committees in factories to identify and act on health and safety risks.

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Remake says the Pakistan Accord has been very effective in a short space of time. In the past year, 117 companies have joined the Accord, including brands like Gap, Primark and Adidas, which means its safety initiatives are set to expand to 484 factories and 539,697 workers in Pakistan.

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Proponents say one of the Accord’s biggest strengths is that it gives a voice to trade unions and, by extension, to the workers.

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Some critics felt the original Accord left out a crucial third voice — that of manufacturers.