fire started.163 On 25 November 2012, C&A confirmed the contractual relation with Tazreen Fashion, C&A had commissioned the company to manufacture 220,000 sweaters to be delivered to C&A Brazil between December 2012 and February 164 2013.”
Walmart 165
Walmart labels were also found in the burned-down factory. Two days after the fire, on 26 November, Walmart said in a statement that the factory was no longer authorised to produce merchandise for Walmart. The company declined to say when exactly it had stopped working with Tazreen and for what reasons. According to Walmart, another supplier, which was later identified as Success Apparel, had subcontracted work to Tazreen “without authorization and in direct violation of our 166 policies”. Documents from mid-September, found in the factory after the fire, indicate that five 167 of the 14 production lines were making apparel for Walmart. There is documented evidence that subcontracting contracts for Walmart orders came to Tazreen Fashions and Tuba group through different Walmart suppliers, including IT Apparel in Dhaka 168 (an agent used by one of Walmart’s former suppliers ), Success Apparel in New York through Nimmi Apparels in Dhaka (belonging to Simco Group), and Topson Downs in Culver City, Canada) to Bismallah Sourcing in Dhaka. 169
Li & Fung On 25 November, a day after the fire, Tazreen’s owner said it was producing for Li & Fung, among other brands. Li & Fung, a Hong Kong based international trading group
163
New York Times, “Horrific fire revealed a gap in safety for global brands”, 6 December 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-exposes-safety-gap-in-supplychain.html?pagewanted=all> 164 C&A corporate responsibility website, ”C&A statement on fire at Tazreen Fashion in Bangladesh”, 25 November 2012 <http://www.candacr.com/nl/2012/11/25/ca-statement-in-fire-at-tazreen-fashion-inbangladesh/> 165 New York Times, “Horrific fire revealed a gap in safety for global brands”, 6 December 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-exposes-safety-gap-in-supplychain.html?pagewanted=all> 166 The New York Times, “Documents Reveal New Details About Walmart’s Connection to Tazreen Factory Fire”, 10 December 2012 < http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/world/asia/tazreen-factory-used-by-2ndwalmart-supplier-at-time-of-fire.html?_r=0 > 167 The New York Times, “Documents Indicate Walmart Blocked Safety Push in Bangladesh”, 5 December 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/asia/3-walmart-suppliers-made-goods-in-bangladeshifactory-where-112-died-in-fire.html?_r=0> 168 Walmart, correspondence with SOMO and CCC, 26 February 2013. 169 Corporate Action Network website, ”Walmart orders to Tazreen” http://corporateactionnetwork.org/campaigns/human-rights-for-all-walmart-workers-the-bangladeshfire/campaign_materials (18 February 2013)
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