Days after the hapless collapsed of the Rana Building in Bangladesh, with a growing number of deaths to 400, labels of Australian clothing companies namely Target, Big W, K-MART and Cotton-On have emerged to be allegedly guilty of employing cheap labor from Bangladesh to produce their garments.

Textile Union National Secretary Michele O'Neil challenged "those companies to answer why they're making in Bangladesh. And they need to be completely transparent about their supply chain. If companies aren't disclosing to the public their supply chain and every one of their suppliers there's a reason for it."

Target's target compliance

Target has already released its statement expressing their condolences to the victims. The company admits that they have suppliers from Bangladesh but it clarifies that none of their suppliers are operating from the Rana Building and that all its suppliers in the country all undergo valid audits.

Target explains that it conducted 895 audits in 2012 and most of the audits were conducted unannounced. These audits are on top of a quarterly visitation of its Compliance Manager.

Target put emphasis on that it works Under the Code, "requiring compliance to proper working conditions, fair pay and labour standards, health and safety, business integrity and legal requirements."

BIG W's operations in Bangladesh

BIG W too has admitted having suppliers from Bangladesh but that their suppliers are in no way involved in the factory operating at the Rana Building.

According to BIG W's statement: "BIG W works with a small number of respected clothing suppliers in Bangladesh, with whom we have a direct relationship and oversight of their operations. We are conscious of our responsibilities when it comes to the sourcing of our products and we insist all BIG W suppliers abide by our ethical sourcing policy, which covers the provision of a safe and hygienic working environment. These suppliers are audited by third-party certification bodies to ensure they are meeting our requirements."

K-MART's elusive statement

K-MART, on the other hand, sounds elusive with its statement. It expresses its deepest condolences to the victims of the collapsed factory and acknowledge that they have suppliers from Bangladesh but cleared out that they "made a decision some months back not to engage with any new suppliers who have factories above marketplaces, such as the garment factory reported in Bangladesh, or in shared premises due to the possibility of accidents occurring and safety concerns."

While K-MART chose to be elusive with their statement, Cotton On is completely vague with its statement. Yes it could be hinted that Cotton On too are working with suppliers in Bangladesh but the statement released appears to be a cut and paste copy of a portion of a contract with their Bangladesh suppliers.

These companies might have washed their hands clean from employing cheap labour but Michele O'Neil remains unconvinced. "I don't think you can trust any company that says that it employs its own auditors to check its own factories. You just can't trust that. It's not a valid process. You need to know names of factories and addresses and details of factories because if you don't know to that level how can it ever be independently checked?"