Discount department store Kmart has confirmed an Australian retail first.
The retailer, sister brand to fellow discount department chain Target, has become the first Australian retailer to offer compensation to the victims and families affected by the Aswad Knit Composite Mills Ltd factory fire last week.
The move follows a forceful message from the The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) last week, scolding Australian companies to take responsibility for their supply chains following this latest deadly garment factory fire in Bangladesh.
Kmart is reportedly one of three Australian retailers, including Big W and Target, to have had material for its clothes made in the factory owned by the Palmal Group of Companies.
Media reports over the past week have suggested that order books recovered from the factory also showed the names of the factory's clients for September, including US brand Gap, British retailer Next, Swedish fashion label H & M and French supermarket Carrefour.
Kmart revealed its commitment to assisting the victims of the fire via a statement this week.
“Everyone at Kmart is deeply saddened by the devastating fire on Tuesday at Aswad Knit Composite factory (owned by Palmal) in Bangladesh.
“Palmal primarily imports fabric from China to be made in to garments in Bangladesh for Kmart Australia. Occasionally Palmal supplements these imports with material produced at their own facilities including the Aswad Knit composite factory. In discussions with Palmal today they have confirmed a recent order was placed for fabric at this factory.
“Our team on the ground in Bangladesh are working with Palmal and the Accord team to ensure that all affected families are compensated and that the factory workers can find alternative jobs.”
Target and Kmart have already signed the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord following the tragic Rana Plaza factory fire in April which claimed the lives of over 1,000 garment workers. Woolworths has yet to sign the concord.
Earlier this year, Kmart also became the first Australian retailer to pledge compete transparency of its foreign factories, when Kmart’s managing director Guy Russo said the company planned to publish the addresses of supplier factories in all countries making its clothing, to allow independent checks of conditions for workers.
The pledge was made on Sunday July 7, 2013 on ABC RN’s Background Briefing program.