(gas hisses)
- [Interpreter] (speaks in a foreign language)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
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- [Narrator] When you shop for clothing on Amazon,
you see a giant selection from many thousands of sellers
available for cheap and swift delivery to your door.
It's part of the reason,
Amazon has become one of the largest apparel retailers
in the United States.
A Wall Street Journal investigation
found that Amazon sells clothing from factories
major fashion retailers have blacklisted
for unsafe conditions that put workers' lives at risk.
Amazon's size and structure mean it has less oversight
of its supply chain than its competitors
in the apparel industry.
- Traditional retailers build trust into supply chain
by checking who's manufacturing their products,
where they're sourcing their materials for it.
Amazon Marketplace has more 500 million products
which are sourced by millions of different sellers
and Amazon doesn't know enough information about them
to enforce the same sort of tactics
traditional retailers would use.
- [Narrator] An Amazon spokesman said
the company audits the supply chains of its own brands
and the company supply chain standards require its suppliers
to provide workers with a safe and healthy work environment.
He added, that Amazon expects third-party sellers
to meet these same standards.
To figure out where clothing items on the site
were coming from, The Journal started with lists
of unsafe factories
and a database of a billion shipping records,
then untangled the web of importers, middlemen,
and Amazon sellers.
This child's top was for sale on Amazon
by a storefront called Chillipop.
When you ordered it, it shipped
from a clothing store called Cookie's in Brooklyn, New York.
But before that, it was imported by the owner
of the Chillipop brand,
a wholesaler in New York's garment district,
called Trendset Originals.
To reach Manhattan,
it crossed the ocean in a shipping container,
all the way from Bangladesh.
Where it was loaded on a ship
in the port city of Chittagong,
the major export hub for Bangladesh's garment industry.
(relaxing music)
In 2013, Bangladesh and its garment industry
were rocked by the Rana Plaza tragedy.
And the world was briefly attuned
to where its clothing was coming from.
(people yelling in a foreign language)
- [Newscaster] The death toll from a garment factory
building in Bangladesh that collapsed is climbing.
(people yelling in a foreign language)
The collapse was blamed on shoddy construction
and a disregard for safety regulations.
- [British Newscaster] An investigation found the workers
had complained about the cracks in the walls.
More than 1,100 people
were crushed to death and 2,000 injured.
They were making clothes for well-known brands.
- When factory collapse, everyone was pulling the body,
but I was pulling the labels.
I was pulling the clothes.
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If we can't document,
who was sourcing this factory,
they will be totally clean their hand and deny.
For a renowned brand, we definitely can write to them,
but if it is go through like Amazon,
how we gonna make sure that who was the brand?
Where they sourced from?
You just cannot track down.
- [Narrator] Facing pressure after Rana Plaza,
global retailers forged agreements
with Bangladesh's garment industry,
like the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
The Accord and similar groups, inspect factories
and assist with safety improvements.
When factories fail to improve unsafe conditions
they are listed as ineligible to work with major brands,
like these U.S., and these brands
from major markets around the world.
- If a factory has been so poor,
in their efforts, or commitments,
to meeting the minimum life safety standards
of our inspection, to the point where the 200 global brands
that have signed the Accord,
said we're not doin' business with you.
For somebody to go and manufacture at that facility,
with that knowledge, is unethical.
It's arguably it would be criminal.
- [Narrator] Cookie's director told The Journal
that its suppliers pledged to use only safe factories
and that Cookie's would be taking action
against Trendset Originals.
A spokesman for Trendset Originals said,
it sourced from Riverside Apparels through a middleman
with whom they have cut ties.
Factories in Bangladesh, with documented unsafe conditions,
in theory should be barred from accessing
much of the U.S. and European retail markets.
But many have found a backdoor through Amazon.
- We know that it's happening, because we know
that the factories that we've made ineligible
they don't close.
So they're getting orders from somebody
other than Accord brands.
- [Narrator] The Wall Street Journal
followed the supply chain
from 122 factories blacklisted by the Accord
and similar groups, that are still in operation.
The Journal cross-referenced lists of the banned factories
with a database of a billion shipping records,
then connected the dots between the importers
and Amazon sellers.
The Journal could only access records for shipments
sent directly from Bangladesh to the United States,
but was able to trace clothing items
from 51 of the 122 banned factories, all the way to Amazon.
Amazon removed these items
after The Journal flagged them to the company.
An Amazon spokesman said, the company takes action
against any third-party seller they learn
is not meeting its supply chain standards.
The toddler top The Journal traced from Amazon
was made at a Chittagong factory called Riverside Apparels
that has been banned by the Accord for unsafe conditions.
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- So this the structural report from an initial inspection.
So this one, highly-stressed columns.
(dramatic music)
The engineers determined they were stressed
because there's toilets blocks above them.
This one is a finding where there's damage
to the actual column itself at the base.
(dramatic music)
The water tanks are weight, that needs to be considered
in the capacity of the building.
Water on the roof,
has to do with the integrity of the concrete
and corrosion to some of the rebars.
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- [Narrator] The ownership of Riverside Apparels
would not let The Wall Street Journal inside to film.
But they granted an interview
with their Managing Director at their new factory in Dhaka,
which has yet to be inspected by the Accord.
- Not having an Accord-complied factory
hurts the business to some extent.
But then again,
you cannot have an Accord-complied factory right away.
It's an on-going process.
There are issues that remains unsolved.
- [Narrator] The tops were sewn by workers at Riverside
and overseen by supervisors like Robiul and Bahar.
- (speaks in a foreign language)
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- (speaks in a foreign language)
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- [Narrator] The Accord also found that Riverside Apparels
has inadequate fire safety measures.
When The Wall Street Journal visited the factory
these metal gates were closed
over the front and rear exits, while workers were inside.
The Accord warns gates like these,
whether or not they are locked,
could trap workers trying to escape a fire,
or building collapse, and require factories to replace them,
with hinged emergency exit doors.
When asked about the metal gates,
Riverside Apparel's owners said,
keeping them closed was not the usual practice.
(dramatic music)
- The financial aspects of compliance is pretty heavy.
Obviously I don't want to discuss the numbers,
but it's pretty heavy.
Many factories have the capacity to do it,
many factories do not have the capacity to do it.
(soft music)
- [Narrator] It isn't easy for garment workers
to walk away from unsafe factories.
Bangladesh's garment industry
is the country's largest employer
and according to The World Bank, its only growth sector.
(soft music)
- (speaks in a foreign language)
- [Narrator] Amazon's competitors made commitments
not only to improve factory safety in Bangladesh,
but also workers' rights.
Now Amazon is overtaking its rivals,
bringing new practices and pressures
to the apparel industry that undermine these efforts.
- E-commerce has been showing a growth trend
for the last couple of years.
Mostly what's been selling through e-comm is fashion.
And Amazon is one of the big players in the market.
Retailers they want to provide the consumers
with a variety of choices.
I am having say for example, 50,000 pieces to make,
but with 20 different styles.
For that reason, we have to find ways
in which we can increase efficiency.
- (speaks in a foreign language)
- [Narrator] As Amazon's biggest competitors in apparel
chase its e-commerce success, they're having similar issues
keeping blacklisted factories out of their supply chains.
The Journal traced clothing items
from 22 banned factories to Walmart.
Most were for sale on Walmart's third-party marketplace,
designed to mimic Amazon's.
The Journal also found garments from one banned factory
listed online by Target.
A Walmart spokeswoman said the company
is investigating the items it sells directly
and will take appropriate action.
Target declined to comment, but removed the items
after they were flagged by The Journal.
- Supply chain responsibility is a major issue
for all companies.
I think that the e-commerce brands should pay the same heed
and make the same commitments
to supply chain responsibility.
- Buying from their store and buying online
is two different world.
These online store, like Amazon,
they are working with many of those factories
which has been blacklisted by the Accord.
If this continues, you don't know,
maybe we gonna see another Rana Plaza catastrophe.
- (speaks in a foreign language)
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