It is a five-year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands, retailers, and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry.

The agreement was created in the immediate aftermath of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh that resulted in the death of more than 1100 people and injured more than 2000.

With deaths and buildings collapsing, NGOs in Bangladesh began attempting to work with the major companies involved to approach health and safety concerns within factories.

Both PVH Corp. and Tchibo signed MoUs with labor rights organizations in 2012 with terms similar to the Bangladesh Accord.

[4] Following this devastating event, a new proposal was drawn up calling for: "Better regulation and stronger enforcement, Investment in safer facilities and infrastructure, Closure of unsafe premises, Engagement of workers and their representatives in promoting safe working practices with management and reporting of issues to competent authorities, Effective training and emergency preparedness of all staff, Assessment of buyers’ responsibilities and necessary improvement of practices."

[5] Working with the Clean Clothes Campaign, Worker Rights Consortium, International Labor Rights Forum, and the Maquila Solidarity Network, the GIZ agency and IndustriALL (a global union federation) began forming a program that needed to meet the needs of trade union and NGO representatives.

The Initiative drew criticism from labour groups who complained that it was less stringent than the Accord and lacked legally binding commitments to pay for improvements.

[10] There were a significant number of accomplishments under the 2013 Accord, those of which included large scale hazard identification and remediation of these safety issues.

The Accord is governed by a Steering Committee that consists of representatives from the signatory companies and trade unions along with a neutral chair from the International Labor Organization (ILO).

One of the key features of the 2018 Accord is that it has pledged to hand over its functions to the Bangladesh government's Remediation and Coordination Cell (RCC), a unit of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.