A horrendous building collapse last April in Bangladesh killed more than 1,100 garment workers. Labor groups, Western clothing companies, the Bangladeshi government and others have made some progress toward preventing similar tragedies, but more needs to be done.

There was never any doubt that improving working conditions in Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, would be incredibly difficult. The collapse of Rana Plaza was just one — though by far the worst — in a series of industrial accidents in Bangladesh’s garment industry, which has become one of the biggest exporters of clothes to the United States and Europe because of its low wages.

It has taken longer than it should to begin making reparations and improving workplaces. Not until last September did the government, the United Nations, the clothing industry and labor groups set up a committee to compensate the families of those who died or were injured. The committee estimates that it needs $40 million to do the job, but it has raised only $15 million. Factory owners and foreign retailers bear the primary responsibility for filling that gap, and they have failed to do so.

After Rana Plaza, Bangladeshi workers and officials feared that Western retailers would stop doing business in the country because of outrage from consumers. That would have put millions of people out of work. It didn’t happen. Bangladesh’s clothing exports jumped 16 percent, to $23.9 billion, in the 12 months that ended in March from the period a year earlier, according to local news reports.