Are Factories in Bangladesh Any Safer Now?

With complex supply chains that stretch overseas, even companies that vow to keep a close eye on their main suppliers often fail to eradicate human-rights violations at all levels of production. Worse, these abuses (child labor, abominable working conditions and wage theft to name a few) often are ignored until a tragedy occurs. Afterward, there are always pledges and plans to reform in order to ensure that such atrocities never happen again.

But in the wake of such tragedy, such as Rana Plaza, does substantive change soon follow? A new report from NYU’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights suggests it doesn’t.