Investors urge big brands to back safety of Bangladesh garment workers

  The Accord has signatory clothing brands and retailers from about 20 countries, such as Britain’s supermarket group Tesco, Swedish fashion group H&M and German sportswear giant Adidas. It is critical to ensure that future safety problems are detected before they become life-threatening events,” Lauren Compere of Boston Common Asset Management said in a statement. The appeal follows a $2.3 million settlement this week by a global clothing brand to meet fire and building safety regulations in 150 factories in its supply chain in Bangladesh. Unions took the retailer, which cannot be named, to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, arguing the company had not made it financially feasible for its factories to fix safety issues, endangering the lives of thousands of workers. Bangladesh, which ranks behind only China as a supplier of clothes to Western countries.