Military branded garments sold at base retail stores owned by the US Department of Defense will comply with the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, thanks to a new bill.
The House of Representatives has approved the defence authorisation bill, co-authored by Democrats Jan Schakowsky and George Miller, containing the measure governing the garments, known as exchanges.
The introduction of the measure comes after a number of garments and documents with US Marine insignias were found in the rubble of the Tazreen Fashions factory, which was destroyed by fire in November 2012, resulting in the death of 112 workers.
According to public figures, the US Army-Air Force Exchange imported some 124,000lb of garments from several garment factories in Bangladesh in 2012.
“Military-branded garments made for sale at base retail stores operated by the Department of Defense should uphold our nation’s core values and meet international labour standards,” said Schakowsky and Miller.
About 50 retail and fashion brands, most of them based in Europe and Canada, have so far signed the Bangladesh Accord, but only three US companies have signed.