Fault Lines

Made in Bangladesh

Fault Lines traces Bangladesh’s garment supply chain and asks if US retailers know where their clothes are being made.

It's ... impossible to turn down a major order from Walmart because that's the factory's livelihood.

by Scott Nova, Workers right consortium.

In November 2012, a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory in Bangladesh killed at least 112 people.

Walmart’s Faded Glory brand shorts were among the clothing found in the charred remains.

The retailer blamed its supplier, saying the order had been sub-contracted to Tazreen without its authorisation.

Fault Lines obtained documents related to the order and investigates whether Walmart has lost control of its supply chain in Bangladesh.

We speak to the owner of the factory at the centre of the Faded Glory order that ended up in Tazreen, as well as other players directly involved in the order.

We also interview an auditor who gives us an insider’s perspective on the way Walmart gets its clothing manufactured.

And we visit factories where clothing items are being worked on by children as young as 12.