The only other American signatory is PVH Corporation, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

Under the legally enforceable plan, retailers and apparel companies have committed to having rigorous, independent factory inspections, and to helping underwrite any fire safety and building repairs needed to correct violations.

“We are committed to Bangladesh and support industrywide efforts to improve safety standards,” said Kim Harr, director of sustainability at Abercrombie, which had $4.5 billion in revenue last year. “We believe this is the right thing to do to bring about sustainable, effective change.”

This week, a flood of European retailers joined the plan, including HM, Carrefour, Mango, Primark, Marks Spencer and Inditex, the parent of Zara. Momentum to join the plan grew after a factory building in Bangladesh collapsed on April 24, killing more than 1,100 workers.

With so many European companies signing on, pressures have increased on American retailers to join, with much of that pressure focused on Gap, the world’s third-largest apparel company, which is often viewed as an industry leader on social responsibility. The plan’s supporters predicted that numerous other American retailers would follow suit if Gap signed on.

Labor advocates and officials in Washington said there were intense internal discussions within Gap about whether to back the plan. In recent days, Gap has been the most vocal critic of the plan, saying it feared that joining would subject it to undue liability.

Gap sent a letter to employees at its headquarters on Wednesday, saying, “We take our commitment to improving working conditions in Bangladesh very seriously.” The letter said Gap had hired a fire inspector to examine the 78 factories it uses in Bangladesh and had promised up to $22 million in loans for factories to make safety improvements.

IndustriALL Global Union, a federation of unions from 140 countries that has negotiated with numerous retailers, urging them to join the plan, announced late Wednesday that a total of 31 companies had signed on.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/business/global/abercrombie-fitch-agrees-to-bangladesh-factory-safety-plan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss