incomes are still far higher than alternatives such as domestic work, and the factory jobs have offered a way thousands of formerly impoverished Bangladeshi women. Ongoing risks facing women factory workers were brought into public view with a factory fire that killed 112 people in November 2012, and a building collapse in April 2013 that killed 1,127 people the most deadly garment factory disaster in history More than half of those killed were women; some of their children also died in the buildings. The factory owners may be punished for knowingly subjecting garment workers to risky factory conditions; sus tained government, union, and civil society action will be needed to help ensure that safety can be instituted before others die needlessly. Fortunately, rather than simply treating this as a public relations disaster and shifting contracts to other countries, in 2013 a group of major European retailers set up an "Accord," and a grouping of North American retailers set up an "Initiative," to set standards and monitor workplaces producing their contract garment orders. Of the two programs, the European Accord was viewed by many civil society and union observers as being more legally binding than the North American Initiative and hence more effective (US. retailers claim this is because they could face lawsuit risks). In any case, Bangladeshi workers would benefit from enhanced cooperation and coordination between these two alliances