According to a Bangladeshi fire official, the factory where 112 people were killed had lost the fire certification it needed to operate. The owner of the factory said that only three of the eight floor were legal. Government officials said that they could have fined or punished the company in some way, but did not want to confront the issue. The garment industry accounts for 80% of Bangladesh's exports, about $20 billion a year. Labor rights groups say that the government officials do not challenge poor conditions in the factories for that reason. The factory was producing clothes for Walmart, Disney and other brands.
See "Dhaka factory lost fire certification", Julhas Alam, Business Week, December 6, 2012