Review of the year: What retail learned from Bangladesh

Here are some of the key lessons learnt from the disaster:

There’s no excuse for not knowing your supply chain inside out. 

The building was used by suppliers serving retailers including Bonmarché, Primark, Benetton and US retailer Joe Fresh. 

Peter McAllister, director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, said at the time: “There is a shared responsibility between retailers, building owners and government. International brands sourcing from these countries know the conditions there, and need to do a lot more to make sure that the factories they are sourcing from meet standards, are well built, properly inspected, have fire escapes and are treating workers properly.”

Bonmarché agreed, saying: “While we have always implemented processes in line with or exceeding industry requirements and standards, there are lessons to be learned from this event right across the retail sector.”

Information sharing is a crucial part of sourcing from countries such as Bangladesh.

If a factory has been blacklisted by one retailer for lack of safety, that retailer needs to tell its peers. This is partly what led to the Accord of Fire and Building Safety, which 26 major retailers have signed up to. The retailers involved have committed to financing and implementing a building safety programme, with each contributing $2.5m (£1.5m).

Retailers must inspect the structure of buildings.

Primark came under scrutiny after the tragedy because its supplier, Simple Approach, occupied the second floor of the building. The fast-fashion retailer said it carried out annual inspections of the space it was using, but did not inspect the building’s structure. 

It went on to seek a way of testing  the integrity of buildings where there are multiple factories operating on multiple floors.