In December, 2018, YKK Bangladesh Pte. Ltd. became the only zipper manufacturer in Bangladesh to receive certification from the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.
The YKK Group made the YKK Group Health and Safety Pledge in February, 1994, and the acquisition of Alliance certification by YKK Bangladesh is just one of the initiatives the YKK Group undertakes to ensure worker safety. Through these activities, YKK Corporation is helping to establish a sustainable society.
Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety
On April 24, 2013, on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, the Rana Plaza building collapsed, claiming the lives of 1,134 men and women, including laborers working in garment factories inside the building. Several hundred people went missing, and thousands more suffered serious injuries. The Alliance was formed in the wake of this tragedy.
The goal of the Alliance is to secure safe working conditions for laborers in the garment industry. It carries out plant safety assessments (for disaster preparedness, safety, and structural integrity), using independent and certified assessors (Qualified Assessment Firms) to formulate evaluations.
The Alliance was inaugurated in 2013 with a five-year mandate. It accordingly ceased operations at the end of 2018 but now its activities are transferred to Nirapon, a locally managed organization tasked with overseeing the ongoing safety and training.