Accord, Alliance shy away from remediation commitment

The disbursement of remediation money for garment factories flagged by Accord and Alliance remains very low, as retailers shy away from contributing to the pooled fund, industry insiders said.

Both the garment makers and retailers will be benefitted if the funds are released soon, as the remediation work is going on in full swing at the factories, said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

"We have established transparency in our supply chain and now the time has come for both the Accord and Alliance to prove theirs. They should uphold their commitment."

So far, only three factories -- all of whom supply to one of the Alliance members, a platform of 26 North American retailers -- have received funds for corrective actions.

In December last year, US-based VF Corporation disbursed a total of $1.2 million among them.

The record of disbursement of remediation funds by Accord, a platform of 190 retailers predominantly based in Europe, is also not good.

One or two factories might have received the remediation fund from Accord, Rob Wayss, Accord's executive director for Bangladesh operations, told The Daily Star by phone.

"But, we have received a lot of requests from the garment makers to get the fund," he said, adding that the retailers will lend financial support to the factory owners should they need it.

Wayss, however, declined to mention the names of the retailers that have already given financial support to factories for remediation.

Meanwhile, factory owners are not much interested in receiving remediation funds from retailers either, as they are not fully aware of the repayment terms and rate of interest, said an official of Alliance, seeking anonymity.