Fashion firms fear they will have to stop sourcing from Bangladesh if Accord ceases operations. One of these is Esprit, which produces about a third of its garments in Bangladesh. They feel the closure of Accord’s office will undermine the reputation of the textile industry.

Accord has been asked to cease operations on November 30, 2018. Accord has inspected more than 2000 factories in Bangladesh and helped draw up plans to fix 1,50,000 structural and fire hazards. Some 90 per cent of those issues have since been addressed.

More than 200 firms - including the world’s top fashion retailers like Inditex and H&M - signed the legally-binding, five-year Accord after at least 1,100 people were killed when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed. Low wages have helped Bangladesh build the world’s second-largest garment industry after China, with 4,000 factories employing about four million workers. The sector exports more than 30 billion dollars worth of clothes a year, mainly to the United States and Europe.

Brands fear the premature shut down of Accord, leaving workers in unsafe circumstances, would jeopardize brands’ ability to source from a safe industry and that activism in key market countries could make the Bangladesh brand toxic to consumers in spite of the tremendous improvements achieved in recent years.