FOXNews.com: WESTERN CONNECTION: Bangladesh Factory in Fire Used By Disney, Walmart

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WESTERN CONNECTION: Bangladesh Factory in Fire Used By Disney, Walmart Nov 28th 2012, 08:56 DHAKA, Bangladesh –  Amid the ash, broken glass and melted sewing machines at what is left of the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory, there are piles of blue, red and off-white children's shorts bearing Walmart's Faded Glory brand. Blue and off-white shorts from hip-hop star Sean Combs' ENYCE label lay on the floor and are stacked in cartons. An Associated Press reporter searching the factory Wednesday found those clothes and others, including sweaters from the French company Teddy Smith, among the charred equipment in the fire that killed 112 workers Saturday. He also found entries in account books that the factory took orders to produce clothesph for Disney and Sears and other Western brands. Garments and documents left behind in the factory show it was used by a host of major American and European retailers, though at least one of them -- Walmart -- had been aware of safety problems. Walmart blames a supplier for using Tazreen Fashions without its knowledge. The fire has elevated awareness of something labor groups, retailers and governments have known for years: Bangladesh's fast-growing garment industry -- second only to China's in exports -- is rife with dangerous workplaces. More than 300 workers there have died in fires since 2006. Police on Wednesday arrested three factory officials suspected of locking in the workers who died in Saturday's fire, the deadliest in the South Asian country's less than 35-year history of exporting clothing. Local police chief Habibur Rahman said three were arrested and will be questioned about the fire amid reports that many workers trying to escape the blaze had been locked inside. He said the owner of the factory was not among those arrested. The officials were arrested Wednesday at their homes in Savar, the Dhaka suburb where the factory is also located. Rahman did not identify the factory officials or give their job status. Workers who survived the fire say exit doors were locked, fire extinguishers didn't work and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm rang. A fire official has said that far fewer people would have died if there had been just one emergency exit. Windows at the eight-story factory are broken, sewing machines melted or burned to ash. Much of the clothing on the lower floors was incinerated. Nightgowns, children's shorts, pants, jackets and sweat shirts were strewn about, piled up in some places, boxed in others. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Interior Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir have said arson is suspected. Police say they have not ruled out sabotage. Walmart had received an audit deeming the factory "high risk" last year, said it had decided to stop doing business with Tazreen, but that a supplier subcontracted work to the factory anyway. Walmart said it stopped working with that supplier on Monday. Calls made to The Walt Disney Company and to Sears Holdings were not immediately returned. Local TV reports said about 3,000 garment workers held protests over the fire Wednesday, blocking roads and throwing stones at some factories and vehicles. It was the third straight day of demonstrations, and as they did previously, factories in the area closed to avoid violence. Police used batons to disperse the protesters, but no injuries were immediately reported. According to local television, most factories in the area closed after opening briefly because of the protests -- a common tactic to avoid violence.

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