Day: October 21, 2015

Panelists:

• Zara Hayes, Director of Clothes to Die For
• Sarah Hamilton, Producer of Clothes to Die For
• Mara Burr, Senior vice president from the Albright Stonebridge Group
• Avedis Seferian, President and CEO of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production(WRAP)
• Marsha A. Dickson, Professor of Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, Irma Ayers Professor of Human Services, Co-Director of Sustainable Apparel Initiative, University of Delaware

Panel discussion questions:

• What does the Rana Plaza tragedy bring out those aspects of the garment industry that many people don’t know?
• What was it like going to Bangladesh and talking to survivors of the Rana Plaza? What are the behind the scene stories of filming the documentary Clothes To Die For?
• What changes are happening in the Bangladesh garment industry after the Rana Plaza? Particularly, what people in Bangladesh are doing to prevent tragedies like the Rana Plaza from happening again?
• The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) is a major effort from the U.S. business community in response to the Rana Plaza tragedy. What the Alliance has being doing, what major accomplishments have been achieved and what is the future work plan of the organization?
• Has corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the Bangladesh garment industry critically improved after the Rana Plaza? Compared with other leading apparel manufacturers in the world such as China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Indonesia, is Bangladesh still significantly lagging behind in terms of corporate social responsibility practices?
• How does the academia look at the Rana Plaza? Does the tragedy lead to some new research questions? What is the “academic” recipe for improving the CSR practices in the Bangladesh garment industry?
• Will enhanced factory inspection increase production cost and make apparel “Made in Bangladesh” lose price competitiveness?
• To prevent tragedies like the Rana Plaza from happening again, what each individual consumer can do or should do?
• Sub-contracting is regarded as an indispensable part of today’s global apparel supply chain. But factories undertaking sub-contracting work operate in a “black box”—many of them are off the chart for inspection and audit. Any progress or new thinking on how to solve the sub-contracting issue in the garment industry?