John Lewis signs Bangladesh Accord

The department store joins the likes of Marks & Spencer, Primark, Tesco, H&M, Inditex and C&A in signing up to the legally binding agreement, which has been coordinated by the UN’s International Labour Organisation.

It comes less than a month after the collapse of an eight-storey factory in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1,100.

Stephen Cawley, head of sustainability at John Lewis, said: “While we have a relatively small supplier base in Bangladesh - we work with a small number of factories that produce less than 5% of our own-brand fashion range - this incident has highlighted the pressing need to raise safety standards across the country’s garment industry. In signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, we will work alongside the ILO and collaboratively with retailers and NGOs to develop and deliver much needed improvements to working conditions.