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What have we learned in the year since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh?

One year after the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than one thousand people and leaving thousands more to be pulled from the stone rubble and piles of clothes adorned with brand name tags, there is a real doubt that companies have learned anything about the safety and standards of overseas contractors.

While some companies have vowed to improve working conditions in factories where their clothes are made, and offered assistance to those suffering from the factory collapse in Bangladesh, others still have shied from carrying their share of the blame. A recent attempt to raise money for injured workers and the families of those killed has fallen woefully short, raising only about $700 per person. It is something, but it isn’t much. It leaves us wondering how committed the textile industry is to avoiding the next Rana Plaza disaster.

More than 1,100 factory workers were killed one year ago today, when the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapse. Another 2,000 workers were killed when the eight-story building fell down, spurred by overcrowding, shoddy safety measures and inevitability.

Thousands of families were left damaged and destroyed, but it was only recently that the companies with their fingerprints on Rana Plaza offered official assistance to those who suffered. And even then, it was woefully uninspiring.

The Rana Plaza Donors' Trust Fund had aimed to collect $40 million from the companies of Rana Plaza, but ultimately fell well below the target. The Maquila Solidarity Network, a group that has taken a vocal role in demanding support for Bangladeshi factory workers, says only nine of the 28 companies that were receiving clothes from factories in Rana Plaza have donated to the cause. About $15 million has been paid into the fund.

Global labour group IndustriALL called the level of support "woefully inadequate." Ineke Zeldenrust, a spokesperson for the Clean Clothes Campaign added:

The lack of action is shocking; brands such as Benetton, Adler Modermarkte, Carrefour and Matalan have so far failed to make any contributions to the Trust Fund, and they must pay up now. Current levels of contributions are clearly inadequate - Mango, KIK, Inditex and C&A are all brands that need to increase their payments. So far only Loblaw has agreed to pay an extra US$1.54million, bringing their total contribution to US$3.63million. The victims have suffered long enough, as the first anniversary approaches there can be no more excuses.

[ Related: 1 year after horrific garment factory collapse, Bangladeshi workers skeptical of promises ]

Those that did donate include Loblaw, the parent company of Joe Fresh. The Canadian company was among the most vocal following the collapse, vowing to make changes and offering support. Bob Chant, Loblaw's senior vice president of corporate affairs, says the company has done just that.

"While we do not forget its tragic beginnings, we are proud to have made Loblaw a contributing voice in the Rana Plaza response and its unfolding legacy related to factory safety," reads a statement attributed to Chant. "Similarly, we have become a lead contributor in the financial response to this tragedy, having committed $5 million for local relief and compensation.

"We continue to believe that the economy and manufacturing communities of Bangladesh benefit from our presence, attention and long-term commitment."

The $5 million Loblaw has committed has certainly gone to some interesting places. Most of, about $3.7 million, went to the compensation trust fund for injured workers and families of the deceased.

Another $1 million has been bookmarked for the charities that assist Bangladeshi children and injured textile workers, and $285,000 went to paying the salaries of Rana Plaza workers in the immediate aftermath of the collapse.

The company has also signed on to a fire safety accord, announced its intentions to improve safety standards and inspections for factories where its products are made, and introduced more ways to monitor workplace safety.

Compared to most of the 28 companies whose clothes were made in the Rana Plaza factory, Loblaw has been among the most proactive. Some have yet to sign on to the safety accords or participate in the trust fund at all.

But even promises of stronger safety measures are not guaranteed to be enough.

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Kevin Thomas, an analyst with the Shareholder Association for Research and Education and a former member of the Maquila Solidarity Network wrote in a Vancouver Sun opinion piece this week that safety standards are often established and quickly forgotten.

[T]he day after the auditor visits a factory, many buyers go back to asking suppliers for faster order deadlines, and lower prices. Suppliers know unrealistically low prices are what draw buyers to countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, not a search for safe and healthy workplaces. They know if prices rise even slightly, perhaps to pay for a new fire escape or stronger foundation, those buyers could be gone in a flash.If anything should have been learned from the Rana Plaza tragedy, it’s that in that context, checklists and codes won’t create healthy and safe workplaces. We must change the way we do business.

The solution? A real commitment to safety, and an understanding that improvements to overseas factories could mean higher prices, for the stores and their customers.

Companies talk a good game, and they seem to understand what is at stake. They are seen helping those injured in the collapse, offering a hand to those who have lost loved ones. They sign on to accords, invest in trust funds. Those that don't shirk from the uncomfortable spotlight have passed the first test. But when the camera lights are off, when anniversaries stop being commemorated and it is only the company, the factory workers and the bottom line, the question is, how will they act?

The next time a safety inspection is conducted in a factory that has never made international headlines, how seriously will the results be considered? That's a question that, sadly, may not be answerable until tragedy strikes. And if tragedy never strikes, it is only the company's social conscience that will thank them for doing the right thing.

We don't celebrate the factories that don't fall down. We only mourn those killed in the ones that do.

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