Swedish retailer H&M has topped up the Rana Plaza fund – even though it says it never sourced clothes from the city.
The donation, its second, was made by the H&M Conscious Foundation, an independent non-profit global foundation which receives funding from H&M.
“H&M has never had any production at any of the factories situated in Rana Plaza, so the H&M Conscious Foundation bases the decision for donation on humanitarian grounds. The donation of US$100,000 will go exclusively to further support the victims and their families through the fund managed by the UN body the International Labor Organization.”
As reported by Inside Retail Asia, earlier this month, the fund made its second payout to 5000 claimants, who are dependents of the 1200 deceased and injured workers in the Bangladesh disaster.
That round saw an additional 30 per cent of each award, making the total amount received by each eligible beneficiary only 70 per cent of the amount they are entitled to.
Lobby group Clean Clothes Campaign caused for retailers to complete their undertakings to support the fund, singling out Benetton for failing to meet its pledge, saying the fund could not meet its commitments without further support.
The H&M Conscious Foundation’s mission is to drive “long lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas”.
“In case of natural disasters in countries where H&M operates, the H&M Conscious Foundation can provide emergency relief. The H&M Conscious Foundation has for instance earlier supported victims of the Haiyan typhoon in the Philippines in 2013, flood victims in India in 2013 as well as flood victims in Nepal, India and Bangladesh in 2014.”
H&M was the first company to sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety in May 2013. Over 190 brands in the textile industry have now signed the Accord to work together with the ILO, global unions IndustriALL and UNI Global as well as Bangladesh trade unions for a safer industry.
