Press Release: Hugo Boss urged to rejoin Pakistan Accord as campaigners warn of ongoing safety risks

For immediate release: Friday 24th April 2026

London – Campaigners from Labour Behind the Label and the Rana Plaza Solidarity Collective have called on Hugo Boss to urgently rejoin a life-saving factory safety programme, warning that the brand’s withdrawal puts workers’ lives at unacceptable levels of risk.

The call follows a protest due to be held today outside a Boss store in London, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, in which 1138 garment workers lost their lives in one of the deadliest preventable disasters in industrial history.

The Accord – established in the wake of disasters such as Rana Plaza and the Ali Enterprises fire – is widely regarded as the most effective mechanism for improving factory safety, combining independent inspections with binding commitments on brands. Campaigners say Hugo Boss’s withdrawal comes despite ongoing safety risks identified by Accord inspections in its Pakistan supply chain, including locked or blocked exits, unsafe escape routes, and inadequate fire protection.

Anna Bryher, Policy Lead at Labour Behind the Label, said: “Across the industry, workers continue to pay with their lives when brands like Hugo Boss ignore safety concerns. No one should die for fashion. Hugo Boss’s decision to walk away from the Pakistan Accord is a reckless step backwards that puts workers’ lives at risk, and signals to other brands responsibility is optional. Refusing to sign means active harm to workers.”

Nasir Mansoor, General Secretary of the National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan, said: “Textile and garments factories have shown criminal negligence in matters concerning workers’ health, safety, and protection of life, and international fashion brands are fully complicit in this crime. No lessons have been learned from tragic disasters such as Rana Plaza and Ali Enterprises. The greed for profit has turned workplaces into death traps for workers. The need of the hour is to make workplaces safe for work. A safe workplace is a right, not a privilege.”

Campaigners are calling on Hugo Boss to re-sign the Pakistan Accord and ensure all identified safety risks in its supplier factories are fully addressed.

They reject the company’s statements that reliance on in-house audits and multi-stakeholder initiatives are sufficient, arguing that auditing alone has repeatedly failed to address systemic safety risks. Binding agreements like the Accord, they say, remain the most credible mechanism to deliver effective remedy.

Further protests around Hugo Boss are planned in Belgium and Germany as part of a wider mobilisation.

ENDS

Notes to editors: 

Photos are available on request. 

• The Pakistan Accord is a country programme for the International Accord – a legally binding agreement between global brands and trade unions covering factory safety. https://internationalaccord.org/
• Hugo Boss is a signatory to the International Accord, and was previously a signatory to the Pakistan country programme, but has not renewed its participation or signed the latest Pakistan agreement. Participation in the International Accord is empty of content without participation in the associated country level programmes.
• Accord inspections in Pakistan have identified ongoing safety risks in supplier factories linked to Hugo Boss.
• The protest was organised by the Rana Plaza Solidarity Collective – https://ranaplaza-solidarity.org. Members of the collective include Labour Behind the Label, War on Want, No Sweat, and Oh So Ethical.

Labour Behind the Label is fighting alongside workers for an industry where exploitation has no place. We support garment worker’ efforts to improve their working conditions and change the fashion industry for the better. We raise awareness, conduct research, and promote international solidarity between workers and consumers. We are a UK member of the Clean Clothes Campaign. www.labourbehindthelabel.org