A New Business After Bangladesh Disasters: Safety

Li & Fung, the buying agent for retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., said it is setting up a new unit to provide buyers and factories with consulting services, financing and insurance to bolster compliance with safety codes.

The industry has come under pressure to improve safety at the factories it relies on to cheaply produce apparel in the wake of the fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory in Bangladesh, which killed more than 100 workers in 2012, and the collapse of the Rana Plaza building last year, which killed more than 1,100 people.