Hugo Boss says it will rejoin the Pakistan Accord effective January 2027, reversing its decision earlier this year not to renew its participation.

The legally binding agreement, inked between global fashion brands, retailers and trade unions, is an offshoot of the broader International Accord for Health and Safety in the Garment and Textile Industry, which grew out of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

The original Accord was forged in the aftermath of the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry: the 2013 collapse of the multi-factory building Rana Plaza, which killed more than 1,130 garment workers and injured thousands more. Pakistan was a logical next choice for expansion. Its geographical closeness aside, it had dealt with its own share of industrial tragedy, including a fire at the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi that killed 260 denim, knitwear and hosiery workers and injured more than 50 several months before the Rana Plaza collapse.

“Following a comprehensive review and extensive dialogue with the Accord, industry peers, and our suppliers, we have decided to re-enter the Pakistan Accord effective January 2027,” a spokesperson from Hugo Boss told Sourcing Journal. “We value the constructive dialogue throughout this process and appreciate the Accord’s openness to stakeholder feedback as it continues to evolve,” the Hugo Boss spokesperson said.

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