All clothing companies with a licensing agreement with U of L will have to have signed the Accord on fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh by April 30 if they want to keep their license, says a letter from Assistant Athletic Director for Licensing Amy Blevins-Morgan released to The Cardinal.

This comes after months of campaigning done by the student group Cards United Against Sweatshops, who support the signing of the Accord by U of L apparel supplier Jansport, which is a subsidiary of VF.

“The ones we are currently with have to sign by April 30,” said university spokesperson John Drees. “Licenses come up for renewal on Jan. 1 (2016), which means new companies, that sort of thing.”

The letter to licensees states that if a company fails to sign the Accord, their license will be terminated. The Accord provides for regulations which would make clothing factories a safer workplace.

“As far as we know, every company that produces in Bangladesh has now signed the Accord. As of this morning.”

According to University of Louisville spokesperson Mark Hebert, students sped up the process of sending this letter.

“They sure raised a level of awareness on university officials,” he said. “The University of Louisville is always trying to be a socially conscious and a socially responsible university, so we’ve been aware of this issue for a long time… but I would say yes, they played a role in this.”

This is a developing story.