Amsterdam, 24 April 2026: 

Today marks 13 years since the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh – a tragedy that claimed the lives of at least 1,138 people and left thousands injured. The Accord remembers those who lost their lives, those who were injured, and those still living with its aftermath.

Commemorating Rana Plaza goes beyond remembrance; it is a reminder of the need for sustained collective action and an ongoing commitment to worker health and safety in the textile and garment industry.

Ensuring safe factories, with secure exits, clear evacuation routes, unlockable and certified fire doors, structurally sound buildings, functioning alarms, and effective emergency preparedness, remains as essential today as it was in the immediate aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013.

Incidents such as the tragic fires at a garment factory and chemical warehouse in Mirpur, which resulted in at least 16 fatalities due to locked exits, and in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone underscore that safety risks in the garment and textile industry remain a reality.

The Rana Plaza tragedy catalysed strong collective action to improve worker health and safety. For over a decade, the efforts of brands, trade unions, factories, and civil society partners under the Accord have contributed to safety improvements at more than 2,000 garment and textile factories in Bangladesh. At the same time, it must be noted that hundreds of factories have yet to fully remediate the identified safety hazards, resulting in ongoing safety risks.

To continue the safety improvements and ensure that all factories covered under the Accord in Bangladesh remediate all safety risks, brands and global unions, IndustriALL and UNI, are preparing for negotiations to renew the Bangladesh Safety Agreement beyond December 31, 2026.

The Accord, alongside its signatories, RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) colleagues and civil society partners, remains steadfast in its commitment to creating safe factories where no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses, or other preventable accidents.

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