Pakistan

The Walt Disney Company is to phase out the sourcing of Disney-branded products from Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Pakistan and Venezuela over concerns the countries no longer meet its guidelines on working conditions.

In the case of Pakistan, sourcing will be phased out by March 2014—and will lead to the loss of annual export orders worth an estimated U.S. $150 million.

The Walt Disney Company's International Labor Standards Program uses the World Bank's worldwide governance index as the main tool to assess relative country risk, along with data from the International Labour Organization's Better Work programme and the International Finance Corporation.

Labor unions have alleged that approximately 500 workers have lost their lives to garment unit fires in the last five years. Most recently, the fire in a garment factory in Karachi Pakistan claimed the lives of nearly 300 workers, exposing the lack of health and safety measures of garment factories in low-cost garment manufacturing hubs like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, India, etc.

Many of these garment factories produce product for renowned global brands and retailers like H&M, Levi Strauss, GAP, Topshop, Next, Adidas, Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland, Debenhams, Sports Direct and many more.

One of the best long-term ways to help Pakistan — and improve America’s image there — is to help Pakistanis help themselves.