Cornell University is the latest college to cut ties with clothing and bag maker JanSport Apparel, reports Business Week.
It’s parent company VF Corp failed to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh by the University imposed deadline of September.
In all 15 Universities have ended their business relationship with VF Corp including Arizona State, Penn State, and Syracuse.
“The sheer size of VF’s presence and influence in Bangladesh behooves the company to support all initiatives designed to improve worker and factory safety in that country,” said Cornell President David Skorton in a statement.
It was in April of last year when a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh and killed over 1,000 workers. VF has 91 factories in Bangladesh (see photo).
You can read VF response to the Universities’ actions and about student involvement in these decisions in Business Week.
It’s a shame that worker safety is not the highest priority for clothing makers.