John Lewis signs Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
John Lewis has announced that it has signed the multi-stakeholder Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, coordinated by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Stephen Cawley, head of sustainability at John Lewis, commented: “While we have a relatively small supplier base in Bangladesh - we work with a small number of factories that produce less than 5% of our own-brand fashion range - this incident has highlighted the pressing need to raise safety standards across the country’s garment industry.
"In signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, we will work alongside the ILO and collaboratively with retailers and NGOs to develop and deliver much needed improvements to working conditions.
“At John Lewis, we strive to offer our customers the best quality products sourced from trusted suppliers and we have a long record of working collaboratively with our suppliers; we look to build long-term relationships with companies and work with people who share our values.”
John Lewis takes the subject of working conditions seriously. It expects its suppliers to not only obey the law, but to respect the rights, interests and well-being of their employees, their communities and the environment. It expects all suppliers to comply with The John Lewis Responsible Sourcing Programme, which includes the requirements of its Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice. This code is based on the ILO’s standards and the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) base code.
