| Description: | North American firms detail Bangladesh safety pact
A group of 17 North American retailers and clothing makers has agreed to a fiveyear pact aimed at improving safety conditions at Bangladesh factories that seeks to spread accountability across a wide spectrum from the local government to factory owners.
As part of the pact, the group which includes WalMart Stores Inc., Gap Inc. and Target Corp. agreed to inspect all the factories they do business with within a year and set up basic safety standards within three months. They're also requiring that the inspection results of the factories be made public. They will then develop action plans for the factories that need improvement.
The alliance has provided a total of $42 million so far in funding and said that figure is growing. The mandatory costs of the program for each company will depend on how much business each of the retailers does in Bangladesh, but will be capped at $1 million per year. Some companies will offer an addit |