Why You Shouldn't Stop Buying from Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a dangerous place to work in a factory. More than 400 people died in the recent Rana Plaza factory collapse, and more than 100 in a factory fire last November. Local health and safety regulations are so weak that last spring, even before the Rana Plaza disaster, executives at Disney (DIS) decided they would no longer source toys and apparel from Bangladesh. The company felt the risk to its reputation wasn’t worth the low cost of production. But pulling out of Bangladesh is the wrong call. The right response of the Western retailers who source from Bangladesh is not to walk away from the country but to work with officials and owners to make the situation better. And consumers who claim to care about people in developing countries should shop at retailers who make that choice.