Nine days after the fatal collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Sahar, Bangladesh, the death toll has surpassed 500, and the outcry against the conditions, companies and governance responsible is augmenting.

Bangladesh is now the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China, with 80 percent of those exports servicing the US and the European Union. In return, those big brands provide jobs and support for millions, but is that enough? After multiple fatal accidents, western brands face harsh scrutiny over sourcing policies and the obvious lack of labor and safety regulations put into place by its suppliers. 

“We need to be careful now not to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” said Sara Hossain, a high-court lawyer in Bangladesh to TIME. “The question should not be shutting down the factories. It should be, 'How do you make employment safe and secure?'” Garment factories in Bangladesh pay the most and carry a certain cachet for that reason, despite safety issues. “Young men and women with a few years of schooling consider that the RMG [sector] gives them more independence and [makes them] more socially acceptable,” added Rushidan Islam Rahman, research director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.Continue reading...

The death toll from the factory building collapse in Bangladesh could reach as high as 1,400, with at least 900 workers still missing six days after Rana Plaza in Savar crumbled and the owners facing possible prison terms for not protecting the tenants or workers.

The Dhaka collapse is the deadliest to hit Bangladesh's garment industry—worth upwards of $20 billion—but little has changed since last November's Tazreen factory blaze that killed 112 workers despite public outcry and pledges to improve safety standards. 

However, the cumulative effect of such tragedies, which have been magnified through the power of social media and the internet, is forcing major Western retailers such as Britain's Primark, Canada's Loblaw and Spain's Mango to admit involvement and ultimately offer up aid or a solution.

But for every brand that steps up and admits fault, another places blame elsewhere or remains mum. Italy's Benetton acknowledged that their products were made in Rana, but claimed it was a "one-time order," while Walmart has maintained that its third-party supplier was not authorized to outsource manufacturing to the Bangladeshi factory.Continue reading...

The death toll in the latest Bangladesh garment industry disaster has risen to more than 300 as rescue crews continue to pull survivors from the rubble of Rana Plaza and search for an estimated 500 workers still missing, with more than 2,500 already rescued.

In the aftermath of the garment factory collapse in Dhaka, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for those responsible to turn themselves in. It is believed that the building owner and factory owners are in hiding after ignoring warnings from police and industry officials to forbid workers to enter the building after cracks were discovered on Tuesday. The building collapsed on Wednesday. 

"Whoever might be the culprits, and if even they belong to our party, they won't go scot-free," the impoverished nation's Prime Minister warned. (Update: The factory owners were arrested on Friday night, when the death toll had risen to 336.)

The disaster shines a light, yet again, on global apparel companies that outsource manufacturing to Bangladesh, a practice that has ballooned into an $18 billion industry as clothing companies continue to adandon manufacturing in China, where inflation and rising wages are pushing up costs. The upshot: Bangladesh and its questionable garment industry is now the world's second-biggest garment manufacturing center.Continue reading...

As many high-end brands show off their latest designs at New York Fashion Week, Greenpeace has a big message for the fashion world at large: It's time to clean up your act.

The latest from Greenpeace’s global Detox campaign is its “Fashion Duel,” with Italian actress Valeria Golino leading the charge for the industry to make environmental stewardship a priority in their operations.

The "duel" sets out to rate 15 Italian and French high-end luxury brands on three areas of the global supply chain — leather, pulp and paper and toxic water pollution — and highlights their differences in policy on toxic water pollution and deforestation.Continue reading...

Greenpeace is doing battle against the fashion world. In the past week, it organized more than 700 volunteers in more than 80 cities in 20 countries to dress up like mannequins and stage “walkouts” of Zara stores as a protest against the company for using any hazardous chemicals in its supply chain.

The “Detox Zara” campaign has spread to include all of fashion; the eco-campaigner's latest video, above, is a manga style trailer called "Detox Fashion" (tagline: "Toxic is so last season.")

The campaign has worked, according to Greenpeace's Tristan Tremschnig: "Zara — the world’s largest retailer — has now committed to clean up their supply chain and Detox following 9 days of intensive pressure from people around the world. This included over 320,000 people joining the campaign online, over 44,000 mentions of Zara and the Detox campaign on Twitter alone, and a reach of over 7.1 million people across Twitter and Weibo. Not forgetting our activities on Facebook, Pinterest and outside the brand’s stores."Continue reading...

K-pop phenom Psy's "Gangam Style" video beats Justin Bieber record to become YouTube's most-viewed video ever, with 805 million views on Friday (knocking on 824 million views now) to Bieber's 803 million for "Baby." Bieber, meanwhile, insults fellow Canadians by wearing overalls to pick up award from Prime Minister.

GM considers Buick logo change and bets it can make the 54-year-old Chevy Impala a head-turner again.

Black Friday in-store sales undercut by Thanksgiving early bird shoppers, mobile and e-commerce shoppers.

GSK and other pharma anger critics by paying for studies.

Hostess Brands eyed by Flower Foods.

Mango replaces Kate Moss with Miranda Kerr.

McDonald's testing Egg White McMuffin and variations on Quarter Pounder.

Mercedes-Benz taps Kate Upton for Super Bowl.

Nintendo's revamped Wii takes aim at a changed game world.Continue reading...

Hostess Brands gets a stay of execution as company and union agrees to mediation today.

Ikea gets green light in India.

GM launches Springo sub-brand in China.

BMW shows off speed with tire-track promotion.

Best Buy posts loss as store sales drop.

Billabong Americas head considers buyout bid for company.

Campbell Soup builds giant Pinterest board out of classic green-bean casserole.Continue reading...

Kate Moss has taken over from Isabeli Fontana as the global face of Spanish brand Mango, which calls Moss an "urban, independent and bold woman."

The British supermodel's first TV commercial for the chain (directed by Terry Richardson, above, it shows looks from its spring 2012 collection) was released on Twitter this morning — and follows last year's viral video promotion for the brand's fall/winter 2011 collection featuring Moss and Richardson on the lam, as you can watch below.Continue reading...