The International Accord, an international agreement for health and safety in the textile and clothing industry, celebrated its tenth anniversary at the end of last year. What began as the Bangladesh Accord in 2013, after five years, became the Transition Accord 2018, signed by more than 190 brands and retailers as well as global unions.
The International Accord was created in 2021, which more than 180 companies signed in the first year. The agreement was extended on November 1, 2023, but as of January 3, 2024, only around 100 brands have signed the new International Accord, or 87 have signed the Bangladesh Accord and 92 the Pakistan Accord.
Ten years of Accord
Because the extension is laborious, as brands and retailers have to re-commit themselves each time, the term of the Internal Accord this time is for three years with an automatic extension for a further three years, making it the longest term to date at a total of six years.
“As a member of the International Accord Steering Committee, we are proud of the work we have done together with our key partners at IndustriAll Global Union and UNI Global Union in developing this new agreement. We encourage all clothing and textile companies to sign this agreement and join our common goal of a safe and sustainable textile and clothing industry,” comments Felicity Tapsell, Head of Responsible Sourcing at Bestseller, in a press release.
German companies support International Accord
With almost a fifth of the signatories, companies from German-speaking countries are disproportionately represented, including Adidas, Aldi (North and South), Ernsting’s Family, Heinrich Obermeyer, Hugo Boss, Intersport, Lidl, Olymp Bezner, Otto Group, Puma, Rewe, S. Oliver, Schmidt Group, Schöffel, Suprema, Tchibo and Wilh. Wülfing.
Industry giants such as Asos, Bestseller, C&A, Carrefour, El Corte Ingles, Fast Retailing, H&M, Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Primark and PVH have also signed up. While the US retail group Walmart is completely missing from the list, only the Australian branches of its competitors Kmart and Target are included. Also missing are LVMH and luxury brands in general, Nike, Kering, Li Ning, VF, Zalando and others.
The Accord has conducted 56,000 factory inspections and addressed 140,000 health and safety issues at 2,400 factories over the past decade.
More than two million workers have received training on health and safety, and all workers in factories covered by the Accord have access to a hotline where they can anonymously raise concerns about these areas.