Let me tell you about a real bargain-bin disaster. On November 24, 2012, the Tazreen Fashions factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, went up in flames like a Fourth of July barbecue gone wrong. And by “wrong,” I mean 117 people—mostly women—burned alive or were crushed to death. It was a tragedy so preventable, even my ex-boyfriend, who once tried to fix a gas leak with a cigarette lighter, would’ve seen it coming.
The fire started on the ground floor, surrounded by flammable fabric stacked to the ceiling because apparently, fire safety is for quitters. And you know what the managers did when the alarms went off? Told everyone to keep working! “Don’t worry, it’s just a drill,” they said. A drill? Honey, the only thing getting drilled here was common sense.
By the time workers realized the factory was turning into a human toaster oven, it was too late. Doors were locked. The fire escapes didn’t exist. People jumped out of windows from four stories up because they figured broken legs were better than crispy ones. Spoiler alert: a lot of them didn’t make it.
Now let’s talk about the victims. Most of them were women making 18 cents an hour. Eighteen cents! That’s not enough to buy gum, let alone the dignity to ask for a raise. Oh, and there were kids working there, too, because nothing screams “fun childhood” like sewing cheap jeans for Walmart in a building that doubles as a death trap.
Speaking of Walmart, let’s dive into this dumpster fire of a corporation. In 2012, Walmart made $17 billion in profits (Fortune Global 500), which means they could’ve bought every single worker in that factory a private jet and still had enough left over to bribe Congress. But no. When the factory owners asked for fireproof doors and proper exits, Walmart said no because it would’ve added three cents per garment to production costs. Three cents. That’s less than it costs to fart in a public restroom.
And let’s not forget Walmart’s excuse after the fire. “We didn’t know Tazreen was making our clothes,” they said. Oh, really? Because Bloomberg found documents proving Walmart not only knew but actively rejected safety upgrades. That’s like saying you didn’t know your kid was failing math while holding their report card in your hand.
So, what happened after this nightmare? Everyone got mad, held some protests, and promised to fix things. Big brands signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding agreement to make factories safer. And hey, credit where it’s due—thousands of factories were inspected, and over 120,000 safety hazards were fixed (Accord Final Report, 2018).
But Walmart? Oh no, Walmart said, “Binding agreements? That sounds like work.” Instead, they joined the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which was about as effective as a condom made of Swiss cheese. Factories tied to Alliance brands kept violating safety rules because the program was “voluntary.” Voluntary. That’s like letting your kid “voluntarily” decide whether to do their homework.
Let’s zoom out for a second. You think this kind of thing only happens in Bangladesh? Please. Here in the U.S., women—especially women of color—are still stuck in low-wage, unsafe jobs. And don’t even get me started on child labor. The Department of Labor reported in 2022 that child labor violations are up 37% from 2012. At this rate, kids are gonna need work permits before they even lose their baby teeth.
Meanwhile, garment workers in Bangladesh still earn an average of $96 a month (Global Living Wage Coalition), which is about enough to buy one of those Walmart Super-Saver rotisserie chickens—if it’s on sale. And Walmart? In 2023, they made $13.7 billion in profits. If greed were an Olympic sport, Walmart would be breaking records.
Here’s the real kicker. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Back in 1911, we had the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York. That disaster killed 146 workers—also mostly women—and finally forced the U.S. to pass labor laws, fire codes, and other common-sense regulations. But instead of learning from that, we outsourced the whole mess to countries like Bangladesh, where we can pretend not to see it. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
So here we are, twelve years later, and nothing’s really changed. The Tazreen fire wasn’t an accident. It was the result of choices—by factory owners, by corporations like Walmart, and, yeah, by consumers who want $5 T-shirts without asking why they’re so cheap.
The question is: How many more people have to die before we get our act together? Because if Walmart can spend $1.5 billion on Super Bowl ads, they can afford a few fireproof doors. And if we keep ignoring this, we’re not just complicit—we’re accessories. The cheap kind you buy at Walmart.
There you go, folks. A tragedy wrapped in corporate greed and sprinkled with apathy. I hope that $5 T-shirt was worth it.
