In June 2013 President Barack Obama announced that U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh, the Generalized System of Preferences, were suspended following the deadly 24 April 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza, considered to be the global garment industry’s worst accident.
In 2007, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) had submitted a petition under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) "alleging a number of worker rights issues in export processing zones, the ready-made garments (RMG) sector, and the seafood processing sector."
This investigated was expedited as concerns over labour rights and RMG factory safety concerns increased in 2012 with more deadly accidents and the unsolved killing in 2012 of prominent trade unionist Aminul Islam
For centuries weaving has been the way to produce clothes.
In some cultures, weaving forms demonstrate social status. .
Certain symbols and colors also allowed identification of class and position.
For example, in the ancient Incan civilization, black and white
embroidery digitizing designs indicated a military status.
In Europe between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries woven pieces called "tapestries" took the place of paintings on walls.
The Unicorn in Captivity is part of a series consisting of seven tapestry panels known asThe Hunt of the Unicorn by Franco Flemish from this time period.
Much of the art at the time in history was used to tell common folktales that also had a religious theme.
As Mark Getlein wrote, "Tapestry is a special
digitizing type of weaving in which the weft yarns are manipulated freely to form a pattern or design on the front of the fabric...
Often the weft yarns are of several colors and the weaver can use the different-colored yarns almost as flexible as a painter uses pigment on canvas."