(gas hisses) – [Interpreter] (speaksin a foreign language) – (speaks in a foreign language) (dramatic music) – [Narrator] When you shopfor clothing on Amazon, you see a giant selectionfrom many thousands of sellers available for cheap
andswift delivery to your door.It's part of the reason, Amazon has become one of thelargest apparel retailers in the United States.
A Wall Street Journal investigation found that Amazon sellsclothing from factories major fashion retailers have blacklisted for unsafe conditions thatput workers' lives at risk.
Amazon's size and structuremean it has less oversight of its supply chain than its competitors in the apparel industry.
– Traditional retailersbuild trust into supply chain by checking who'smanufacturing their products, where they're sourcingtheir materials for it.
Amazon Marketplace hasmore 500 million products which are sourced bymillions of different sellers and Amazon doesn't knowenough information about them to enforce the same sort of tactics traditional retailers would use.
– [Narrator] An Amazon spokesman said the company audits the supplychains of its own brands and the company supply chainstandards require its suppliers to provide workers with a safeand healthy work environment.
He added, that Amazonexpects third-party sellers to meet these same standards.
To figure out whereclothing items on the site were coming from, TheJournal started with lists of unsafe factories and a database of abillion shipping records, then untangled the webof importers, middlemen, and Amazon sellers.
This child's top was for sale on Amazon by a storefront called Chillipop.
When you ordered it, it shipped from a clothing store calledCookie's in Brooklyn, New York.
But before that, it wasimported by the owner of the Chillipop brand, a wholesaler in NewYork's garment district, called Trendset Originals.
To reach Manhattan, it crossed the ocean ina shipping container, all the way from Bangladesh.
Where it was loaded on a ship in the port city of Chittagong, the major export hub forBangladesh's garment industry.
(relaxing music) In 2013, Bangladesh andits garment industry were rocked by the Rana Plaza tragedy.
And the world was briefly attuned to where its clothing was coming from.
(people yelling in a foreign language) – [Newscaster] The deathtoll from a garment factory building in Bangladeshthat collapsed is climbing.
(people yelling in a foreign language) The collapse was blamedon shoddy construction and a disregard for safety regulations.
– [British Newscaster] Aninvestigation found the workers had complained aboutthe cracks in the walls.
More than 1, 100 people were crushed to death and 2, 000 injured.
They were making clothesfor well-known brands.
– When factory collapse, everyone was pulling the body, but I was pulling the labels.
I was pulling the clothes.
(dramatic music) If we can't document, who was sourcing this factory, they will be totallyclean their hand and deny.
For a renowned brand, wedefinitely can write to them, but if it is go through like Amazon, how we gonna make surethat who was the brand? Where they sourced from? You just cannot track down.
– [Narrator] Facingpressure after Rana Plaza, global retailers forged agreements with Bangladesh's garment industry, like the Accord on Fire andBuilding Safety in Bangladesh.
The Accord and similargroups, inspect factories and assist with safety improvements.
When factories fail toimprove unsafe conditions they are listed as ineligibleto work with major brands, like these U.
S.
, and these brands from major markets around the world.
– If a factory has been so poor, in their efforts, or commitments, to meeting the minimumlife safety standards of our inspection, to the pointwhere the 200 global brands that have signed the Accord, said we're not doin' business with you.
For somebody to go andmanufacture at that facility, with that knowledge, is unethical.
It's arguably it would be criminal.
– [Narrator] Cookie'sdirector told The Journal that its suppliers pledgedto use only safe factories and that Cookie's would be taking action against Trendset Originals.
A spokesman for Trendset Originals said, it sourced from RiversideApparels through a middleman with whom they have cut ties.
Factories in Bangladesh, withdocumented unsafe conditions, in theory should be barred from accessing much of the U.
S.
andEuropean retail markets.
But many have found abackdoor through Amazon.
– We know that it'shappening, because we know that the factories thatwe've made ineligible they don't close.
So they're getting orders from somebody other than Accord brands.
– [Narrator] The Wall Street Journal followed the supply chain from 122 factoriesblacklisted by the Accord and similar groups, thatare still in operation.
The Journal cross-referencedlists of the banned factories with a database of abillion shipping records, then connected the dotsbetween the importers and Amazon sellers.
The Journal could onlyaccess records for shipments sent directly from Bangladeshto the United States, but was able to trace clothing items from 51 of the 122 bannedfactories, all the way to Amazon.
Amazon removed these items after The Journal flaggedthem to the company.
An Amazon spokesman said, the company takes action against any third-party seller they learn is not meeting its supply chain standards.
The toddler top TheJournal traced from Amazon was made at a Chittagong factorycalled Riverside Apparels that has been banned by theAccord for unsafe conditions.
(dramatic music) – So this the structural reportfrom an initial inspection.
So this one, highly-stressed columns.
(dramatic music) The engineers determinedthey were stressed because there's toilets blocks above them.
This one is a finding where there's damage to the actual column itself at the base.
(dramatic music) The water tanks are weight, that needs to be considered in the capacity of the building.
Water on the roof, has to do with theintegrity of the concrete and corrosion to some of the rebars.
(dramatic music) – [Narrator] The ownershipof Riverside Apparels would not let The Wall StreetJournal inside to film.
But they granted an interview with their Managing Directorat their new factory in Dhaka, which has yet to beinspected by the Accord.
– Not having an Accord-complied factory hurts the business to some extent.
But then again, you cannot have an Accord-compliedfactory right away.
It's an on-going process.
There are issues that remains unsolved.
– [Narrator] The tops weresewn by workers at Riverside and overseen by supervisorslike Robiul and Bahar.
– (speaks in a foreign language) (dramatic music) – (speaks in a foreign language) (dramatic music) – [Narrator] The Accord alsofound that Riverside Apparels has inadequate fire safety measures.
When The Wall StreetJournal visited the factory these metal gates were closed over the front and rear exits, while workers were inside.
The Accord warns gates like these, whether or not they are locked, could trap workerstrying to escape a fire, or building collapse, and requirefactories to replace them, with hinged emergency exit doors.
When asked about the metal gates, Riverside Apparel's owners said, keeping them closed wasnot the usual practice.
(dramatic music) – The financial aspects ofcompliance is pretty heavy.
Obviously I don't wantto discuss the numbers, but it's pretty heavy.
Many factories have the capacity to do it, many factories do not havethe capacity to do it.
(soft music) – [Narrator] It isn'teasy for garment workers to walk away from unsafe factories.
Bangladesh's garment industry is the country's largest employer and according to The WorldBank, its only growth sector.
(soft music) – (speaks in a foreign language) – (speaks in a foreign language) – [Narrator] Amazon'scompetitors made commitments not only to improve factorysafety in Bangladesh, but also workers' rights.
Now Amazon is overtaking its rivals, bringing new practices and pressures to the apparel industry thatundermine these efforts.
– E-commerce has beenshowing a growth trend for the last couple of years.
Mostly what's been sellingthrough e-comm is fashion.
And Amazon is one of thebig players in the market.
Retailers they want toprovide the consumers with a variety of choices.
I am having say for example, 50, 000 pieces to make, but with 20 different styles.
For that reason, we have to find ways in which we can increase efficiency.
– (speaks in a foreign language) – (speaks in a foreign language) – [Narrator] As Amazon'sbiggest competitors in apparel chase its e-commerce success, they're having similar issues keeping blacklisted factoriesout of their supply chains.
The Journal traced clothing items from 22 banned factories to Walmart.
Most were for sale on Walmart'sthird-party marketplace, designed to mimic Amazon's.
The Journal also found garmentsfrom one banned factory listed online by Target.
A Walmart spokeswoman said the company is investigating theitems it sells directly and will take appropriate action.
Target declined to comment, but removed the items after they were flagged by The Journal.
– Supply chain responsibilityis a major issue for all companies.
I think that the e-commercebrands should pay the same heed and make the same commitments to supply chain responsibility.
– Buying from theirstore and buying online is two different world.
These online store, like Amazon, they are working withmany of those factories which has been blacklisted by the Accord.
If this continues, you don't know, maybe we gonna see anotherRana Plaza catastrophe.
– (speaks in a foreign language) – (speaks in a foreign language) (dramatic music).
Nhận xét
Đăng nhận xét