Fast Retailing shuns safety pact

Japanese retailer Fast Retailing says it will not sign the united safety pact in Bangladesh for now.

The Uniqlo parent says it will conduct its own safety inspections and develop improvement plans for its garment makers in the country.

“We are still considering if the company is going to join the pact, but we haven’t made the decision yet,” said Naoto Miyazawa, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Fast Retailing.

The Bangladesh safety pact is supported by global retailers including H&M, Inditex, PVH Corp and Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, has also declined to sign the pact, instead promising to make its own public safety inspections at all its suppliers’ factories in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh safety pact aims to improve garment-factory conditions following last month’s factory accidents that killed more than 1100 people.

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