Close to 200 apparel companies operating in Pakistan have signed an accord which stipulates safety measures in the country’s factories.

Signatories include most major manufacturers from Adidas to Zalando. The accord is a legally binding agreement between global unions, apparel brands and retailers for an initial term of three years starting in January 2023, guaranteeing that factories on the ground will be regularly inspected and monitored.

It also establishes a new grievance mechanism for Pakistan’s garment workers for health and safety issues. It will also guarantee that all supplier factories receive funding to pay for necessary renovation work. Gradually, this will cover more than 500 cut-make-trim facilities and ready-made garment suppliers. Textile factories within the signatories' supply chains will also be covered. It will initially begin in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab, where the majority of Pakistan’s 20 billion annual textile exports are produced.

The model for the agreement is the Bangladesh Accord, which was signed after the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in 2013, and which has since brought important improvements for some 2.5 million workers in more than 1,600 textile factories. In contrast, not much has changed in neighboring Pakistan. In 2022 alone, at least 19 people died in factory accidents.