WRC Factory Investigation

Garib & Garib

Factory: Garib & Garib

Key Buyers: 3 Suisses International, H&M, Men's Work Wearhouse, Otto

Last Updated: 2010

Case Summary

On February 25, 2010, a horrific fire occurred at the Garib & Garib sweater factory in the Gazipur district of Dhaka. Twenty-one workers, 15 of them women, suffocated to death and dozens were seriously injured. Apparently due to an electrical short circuit, the fire began on the first floor of the seven-story factory, and because the windows were sealed, poor ventilation allowed smoke to quickly fill the building. Two of the three main factory exits were locked and access to the factory’s stairwells and roof were blocked. Firefighters had to cut through the metal window grills to reach the workers, succeeding in saving several lives.

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