(gas hisses)
- [Interpreter] (speaks
in a foreign language)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] When you shop
for clothing on Amazon,
you see a giant selection
from many thousands of sellers
available for cheap and
swift delivery to your door.
It's part of the reason,
Amazon has become one of the
largest apparel retailers
in the United States.
A Wall Street Journal investigation
found that Amazon sells
clothing from factories
major fashion retailers have blacklisted
for unsafe conditions that
put workers' lives at risk.
Amazon's size and structure
mean it has less oversight
of its supply chain than its competitors
in the apparel industry.
- Traditional retailers
build trust into supply chain
by checking who's
manufacturing their products,
where they're sourcing
their materials for it.
Amazon Marketplace has
more 500 million products
which are sourced by
millions of different sellers
and Amazon doesn't know
enough information about them
to enforce the same sort of tactics
traditional retailers would use.
- [Narrator] An Amazon spokesman said
the company audits the supply
chains of its own brands
and the company supply chain
standards require its suppliers
to provide workers with a safe
and healthy work environment.
He added, that Amazon
expects third-party sellers
to meet these same standards.
To figure out where
clothing items on the site
were coming from, The
Journal started with lists
of unsafe factories
and a database of a
billion shipping records,
then untangled the web
of 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 called
Cookie's in Brooklyn, New York.
But before that, it was
imported by the owner
of the Chillipop brand,
a wholesaler in New
York's garment district,
called Trendset Originals.
To reach Manhattan,
it crossed the ocean in
a shipping container,
all the way from Bangladesh.
Where it was loaded on a ship
in the port city of Chittagong,
the major export hub for
Bangladesh's garment industry.
(relaxing music)
In 2013, Bangladesh and
its 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 death
toll from a garment factory
building in Bangladesh
that collapsed is climbing.
(people yelling in a foreign language)
The collapse was blamed
on shoddy construction
and a disregard for safety regulations.
- [British Newscaster] An
investigation found the workers
had complained about
the cracks in the walls.
More than 1,100 people
were crushed to death and 2,000 injured.
They were making clothes
for 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 totally
clean their hand and deny.
For a renowned brand, we
definitely can write to them,
but if it is go through like Amazon,
how we gonna make sure
that who was the brand?
Where they sourced from?
You just cannot track down.
- [Narrator] Facing
pressure after Rana Plaza,
global retailers forged agreements
with Bangladesh's garment industry,
like the Accord on Fire and
Building Safety in Bangladesh.
The Accord and similar
groups, inspect factories
and assist with safety improvements.
When factories fail to
improve unsafe conditions
they are listed as ineligible
to 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 minimum
life safety standards
of our inspection, to the point
where the 200 global brands
that have signed the Accord,
said we're not doin' business with you.
For somebody to go and
manufacture at that facility,
with that knowledge, is unethical.
It's arguably it would be criminal.
- [Narrator] Cookie's
director told The Journal
that its suppliers pledged
to use only safe factories
and that Cookie's would be taking action
against Trendset Originals.
A spokesman for Trendset Originals said,
it sourced from Riverside
Apparels through a middleman
with whom they have cut ties.
Factories in Bangladesh, with
documented unsafe conditions,
in theory should be barred from accessing
much of the U.S. and
European retail markets.
But many have found a
backdoor through Amazon.
- We know that it's
happening, because we know
that the factories that
we'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 factories
blacklisted by the Accord
and similar groups, that
are still in operation.
The Journal cross-referenced
lists of the banned factories
with a database of a
billion shipping records,
then connected the dots
between the importers
and Amazon sellers.
The Journal could only
access records for shipments
sent directly from Bangladesh
to the United States,
but was able to trace clothing items
from 51 of the 122 banned
factories, all the way to Amazon.
Amazon removed these items
after The Journal flagged
them 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 The
Journal traced from Amazon
was made at a Chittagong factory
called Riverside Apparels
that has been banned by the
Accord for unsafe conditions.
(dramatic music)
- So this the structural report
from an initial inspection.
So this one, highly-stressed columns.
(dramatic music)
The engineers determined
they 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 the
integrity of the concrete
and corrosion to some of the rebars.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] The ownership
of Riverside Apparels
would not let The Wall Street
Journal inside to film.
But they granted an interview
with their Managing Director
at their new factory in Dhaka,
which has yet to be
inspected by the Accord.
- Not having an Accord-complied factory
hurts the business to some extent.
But then again,
you cannot have an Accord-complied
factory right away.
It's an on-going process.
There are issues that remains unsolved.
- [Narrator] The tops were
sewn by workers at Riverside
and overseen by supervisors
like Robiul and Bahar.
- (speaks in a foreign language)
(dramatic music)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] The Accord also
found that Riverside Apparels
has inadequate fire safety measures.
When The Wall Street
Journal 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 workers
trying to escape a fire,
or building collapse, and require
factories to replace them,
with hinged emergency exit doors.
When asked about the metal gates,
Riverside Apparel's owners said,
keeping them closed was
not the usual practice.
(dramatic music)
- The financial aspects of
compliance is pretty heavy.
Obviously I don't want
to discuss the numbers,
but it's pretty heavy.
Many factories have the capacity to do it,
many factories do not have
the capacity to do it.
(soft music)
- [Narrator] It isn't
easy for garment workers
to walk away from unsafe factories.
Bangladesh's garment industry
is the country's largest employer
and according to The World
Bank, its only growth sector.
(soft music)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
- [Narrator] Amazon's
competitors made commitments
not only to improve factory
safety in Bangladesh,
but also workers' rights.
Now Amazon is overtaking its rivals,
bringing new practices and pressures
to the apparel industry that
undermine these efforts.
- E-commerce has been
showing a growth trend
for the last couple of years.
Mostly what's been selling
through e-comm is fashion.
And Amazon is one of the
big players in the market.
Retailers they want to
provide 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's
biggest competitors in apparel
chase its e-commerce success,
they're having similar issues
keeping blacklisted factories
out of their supply chains.
The Journal traced clothing items
from 22 banned factories to Walmart.
Most were for sale on Walmart's
third-party marketplace,
designed to mimic Amazon's.
The Journal also found garments
from one banned factory
listed online by Target.
A Walmart spokeswoman said the company
is investigating the
items 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 responsibility
is a major issue
for all companies.
I think that the e-commerce
brands should pay the same heed
and make the same commitments
to supply chain responsibility.
- Buying from their
store and buying online
is two different world.
These online store, like Amazon,
they are working with
many of those factories
which has been blacklisted by the Accord.
If this continues, you don't know,
maybe we gonna see another
Rana Plaza catastrophe.
- (speaks in a foreign language)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
(dramatic music)
