Fast-fashion retailers, such as Zara, H&M, and Forever 21, demand quick changes and responses from suppliers to answer consumers’ demands for changing fashion. Today these retailers offer new apparels and accessories almost weekly and so ask their suppliers to be very flexible and reactive.
Bangladesh is the 2nd largest apparel producer for North American and European brands. The Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, in 2013, killing thousands of people, enlightened the lax of safety concerns, the loose regulations, and the pressure put on these suppliers by North American and European brands.
Do you think that these retailers should be responsible for the safety conditions in apparel factories in LDCs and LLDCs? How important are ethical concerns in their marketing strategy?