Ecouterre

Photos by Heng Sinith for Associated Press

The ceiling of a small shoe factory outside the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh collapsed early Thursday, killing at least two workers and injuring seven as a result of the falling concrete. The latest accident, which comes less than a month the deadliest industrial disaster in Bangladesh killed more than 1,120 people, underscores the deadly safety conditions many garment workers face in the developing world. About 50 workers were inside a workroom of the factory when the cave in occurred. Ken Loo, the secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, told the New York Times that steel beams holding up a concrete-floored storage area on a mezzanine above appeared to have been responsible.

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If you thought Abercrombie & Fitch couldn’t get more offensive, you’d be wrong, oh so wrong. After CEO Mike Jeffries drew fire last week for deliberating excluding plus-size women from wearing his clothing, a three-year-old remark by an unnamed store manager is picking up traction. “Any clothing that has any type of blemish, including things such as a stitch missing or a frayed fabric, gets sent back to the company for immediate disposal,” the source said. “Abercrombie & Fitch doesn’t want to create the image that just anybody, poor people, can wear their clothing. Only people of a certain stature are able to purchase and wear the company name.”

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Researchers at Duke University have used a consumer-grade 3D printer to make something out of a Sci-Fi movie- an invisibility cloak. Yaroslav Urzhumov and his crew of engineers have used the printer to create a device that sort of looks like a giant perforated waffle. The holes and perforations are arranged in an algorithm that, together, deflect microwave beams and make the obscuring cloak- that is easily printed on an at-home 3D printer.

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Holy domino effect! Following examples set by H&M, Inditex, Primark, and C&A on Monday, a number of North American and European clothing brands have agreed to sign a legally enforceable, first-of-its-kind contract that holds them accountable for safety and labor conditions in the factories they employ in Bangladesh. Below, a list of companies that have committed to the Accord on Fire & Building Safety, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign. Among the more conspicuous absentees? Gap and Walmart, both major producers in Bangladesh.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: H&M, Zara Commit to Signing Bangladesh Fire and Safety Agreement

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Illustration by Stop the Cyborgs

Now that the Google Glass has hit the mainstream, we’re just waiting for the slew of usage bans that are anticipated to ensue. With texting and cell phones banned everywhere from driving to movie theaters, a device like Google Glass is sure to follow suit- despite the lack of regulation to the brand new device.

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Photo by Andrew Biraj for Reuters

Bangladesh’s government agreed on Monday to allow the South Asian nation’s 4 million garment workers to form trade unions without seeking permission from factory workers, a milestone victory for labor-rights campaigners who have been lobbying for widespread reforms to the industry following a devastating building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people three weeks ago. The decision came a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration announced a plan to raise the minimum wage for garment workers, who are paid as little as $38 per month—a quarter of China’s current minimum wage—to sew clothing for brands and retailers in North America and Europe.

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Photo by Shutterstock

I wrote this poem for my mom [Ecouterre writer Amy DuFault] on Mother’s Day hoping to impress her with my knowledge of what she does for a living. Knowing about some of the tragedies that occur when people are careless with the environment and other people—and the horrible process that has to be done just to make the clothes—makes going to the mall hard for me. Understanding all this is something else entirely. I have personally, finally acknowledged that I can’t go shopping at fast-fashion stores and other mall stores every weekend, and I need to accept that I can’t have everything at the expense of others dying for me just to make it. Clothes just aren’t that important if that’s the process that needs to happen in order for me to get them. I hope you enjoy my poem!

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Photos by Farad Hossain for Associated Press

Four of the world’s largest retailers have consented to a legally binding, first-of-its-kind contract that requires Western businesses to help finance improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh. Three weeks after a building collapse outside Dhaka killed more than 1,100 workers, H&M, the biggest purchaser of garments from the South Asian country, and Inditex, which owns fast-fashion juggernaut Zara, agreed within minutes of each other on Monday to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Britain’s Primark and C&A in the Netherlands followed their lead hours later, approving a stakeholder-drafted plan that calls for independent building inspections, public disclosure of audit results, mandatory building renovations to address hazards, and union access to factories to educate workers on their rights and their safety.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: International Support for Improving Bangladesh Safety Surpasses 1 Million

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