Around 70 brands have signed the new International Accord for Health Safety in the Garment and Textile Industry, which came into force this month.

As per a Retail Gazette report, the signatories include British fashion brands such as Asos, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Matalan. The agreement has also been signed by other big retailers such as Zara parent Inditex, H&M, Bestseller, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing.

By signing the agreement with UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union, the retailers have committed to the health and safety work already undertaken in Bangladesh and to the expansion of country-specific health and safety programmes based on the principles of the 2013 and 2018 Accord agreements.

The agreements were created in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza tragedy where more than 1,000 garment workers died after the building collapsed, with hundreds more injured.

The new agreement will be implemented in the Netherlands through the International Accord Foundation.