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In Bangladesh, Tau hopes to spur a 'race to the top'

National Post, Canada
In April 2013, a horrendous collapse of a rickety garment factory in Bangladesh killed more than 1,100 workers. The year before, fire swept through another, killing 117 people, and despite such tragedies, improvements in that country's garment sector have been few and far between.
The reality is that capitalism and globalisation have given Western consumers cheap goods and helped emerging economies grow, but that's usually done through the exploitation of workers and the environment. Shop floor conditions are Dickensian in Bangladesh and elsewhere because there continues to be a race to the bottom that doesn't seem to be reversing.
But Oliver Niedermaier has come up with a "capitalist solution for a capitalist failure." He founded private-equity firm Tau Investment Management (Tau means "resurrection in the Greek alphabet) in partnership with Alex Soros and other well-heeled Americans who are raising $ 1-billion to clean up the world's worst supply chains.
The idea is to use capital to invest in inefficient supply chains and transform them into ethical, sustainable and efficient businesses that pay decent wages and respect the environment.
This is not about charity. Tau hopes to generate above-market returns for its investors. "Supply chains represent the biggest cleanup requirement in capitalism, " he said in a recent interview in New York. “When we started setting up Tau as a firm, one of the first areas we were looking at was the garment manufacturing industry because we view it as one of the biggest turnaround opportunities in history."
With a pledge from Soros for $300-million, Tau
has assembled "boots on the ground" in Bangladesh and invested in a handful of the country's 6,000 garment manufacturers. Its team includes experts in manufacturing systems and processes, human resources and environmental practices.
To upgrade jobs there must be more automation but bigger efficiencies will create sustainable employment with higher wages, better environmental practices, training, opportunities, child care and health care for workers, " he said. "Ninety-five percent of workers are women who are underpaid, and supervisors are picked because they are male and can shout at the women."
Another Tau founder is former ExxonMobil Corp, vice-president of global procurement lean Baderschneider, who has been active in the fight against forced and slave labour. She believes Tau represents the best, and perhaps only, way to stop the exploitation of workers.
"There is legislation against forced labor in 190 countries but laws have no teeth," she said. "NGOs don't know how to create sustainable businesses, and governments are part of the problem. The solution is that business must be engaged in human rights issues, just as it has become involved in health and safety issues. Companies must buy into the cause and make money from it."
Tau hopes to raise another $700-million by 2015 from importers such as Nordstrom and others. Garment manufacturing is the world's third-biggest industry—some $700-billion a year—behind only autos and electronics.
This spring, Tau announced its first investment fund in Dhaka and was deluged with interest from suppliers that want to tap into its funds, expertise and contacts with western customers.