Turn tragedy to good

The Walt Disney Co. is a brand that matters. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reason to worry that Disney’s decision to halt production there after a sweatshop fire that killed 112 people last year will spur other big firms to do the same now that some 430 more have died in the collapse of a factory in a suburb of Dhaka.

As she told factory owners this week, “You will have to ensure workers’ fair wages, allowances and other rights. You must look after their workplace safety if you want to do business.” Bangladesh’s $20-billion garment industry is under siege, along with the 3.6 million jobs it provides.

Making cheap clothes for Canadians and other foreigners shouldn’t be a death sentence. While retailers know that pulling out will only hurt workers who make $38 a month, they must try harder to turn this tragedy to good by pressing corrupt sweatshop owners to upgrade working conditions and safety. Otherwise they will court a consumer backlash that may ravage their bottom line.

More should follow the example of Loblaw, owner of the Joe Fresh clothing brand. Loblaw is calling for reforms, compensating the victims, demanding that its suppliers’ factories meet local safety and building codes and sending in auditors to ensure compliance. It has encouraged other firms to do the same. Collectively, foreign purchasers can effect positive change by working with Bangladeshis to raise standards, and by bankrolling improvements.

The Canadian government should also press hard for reform, as the European Union is doing. Workers must be free to organize; safety laws must be enforced; and building codes observed. Otherwise Bangladesh may forfeit its preferential market access.

Sweatshops are bad enough. Allowing them to become killing fields is too much. It is time to stop looking the other way.