The Business Case

Many will remember the dramatic collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. Unsafe buildings and working conditions are the daily reality for millions of workers in apparel also outside Bangladesh. From 2016 onwards I had the privilege to lead a strong team in creating the Life And Building Safety Initiative (LABS, https://labsinitiative.com ). Together with some of the largest apparel companies in the world and building on the experiences from Bangladesh we worked on the challenge to develop a transparent, aligned (most companies have different standards), effective and scalable inspection approach to ensure safe working condition for many thousands of apparel workers in South East Asia (Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Cambodia). The program focuses on remediation of risks related to fire, electrical and structural safety and the necessary workers training on emergency protocols. Starting in 2017 our pilots in Vietnam with all inspection protocols and training developed and approved. Full implementation is planned for hundreds of factories in 2018.