Want to avoid another Rana Plaza? Then new rigour is needed in the regulation of the Asian textile industry

Dr Kamal Munir, who has carried out extensive fieldwork in the manufacturing sectors of developing countries, says current regulation makes it easy for Asian textile factory owners to get around routine inspections and audits of their manufacturing premises. His findings were recently brought into sharp focus by the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, Bangladesh's worst ever industrial accident, in which over 1,200 people lost their lives.