Several of the largest U.S. apparel retailers promised to avoid dangerous factories after one collapsed in Bangladesh in 2013, killing more than 1,100 people. Amazon did not.
Online retail giant Amazon continued to sell clothes made in Bangladeshi factories that other leading fashion companies considered unsafe for workers, according to a Wall Street Journal investigstion.
In the months that followed the 2013 building collapse, some of the world’s biggest retailers including Walmart, Target, H&M, and Gap established two organizations to inspect factories in Bangladesh so disasters like this would not happen again.
Shipping records seen by the Wall Street Journal and reports from safety-monitoring groups showed that Amazon.com continued sourcing apparel from blacklisted factories in Bangladesh that violated certain safety standards.
The investigation showed that items were either bought by wholesalers and sold on to Amazon and Walmart or listed with third-party sellers on their online marketplaces.
The report found that 67 banned factories had items listed on Amazon, 33 on Walmart, and one on Target.
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The findings reveal how platforms such as Amazon may contribute to the dangerous conditions garment workers face in Bangladesh by letting companies continue to profit from unsafe factories, according to Quartz.
A spokesperson for Amazon told the Journal that “it inspects factories that supply its own brands to ensure they are in line with international safety standards similar to those of the safety-monitoring groups.”
Amazon, Walmart, and Target have since removed the clothing that The Journal found in its investigation, according to Business Insider.
