Fatal fire at major Indian denim supplier highlights lack of industry safety standards

Different day, same story: A fire breaks out in a garment factory, exits are shut and workers die because they cannot get out. This time, Nandan Denim was affected, in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The fire broke out last Saturday evening, killing seven workers as the sole exit was reachable only via a ladder. What is different this time is that the denim factory in question is not a small, unknown supplier but one of India’s largest denim manufacturers (the largest according to Nandan Denim) supplying to more than 20 global brands including Target, Ann Taylor, Mango and Wrangler, and Walmart and H&M (through its sister company) that prides itself on its factory working conditions.