After the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, there were substantial changes in the building codes within the garment sector. Following this incident, international regulations and accords were formulated to improve building and fire safety. However, these codes for garment industry buildings are not consistently followed to guarantee safety and structural integrity. This paper presents findings of the existing building code of conduct that was implemented and recent practices from the garment industries, especially operating in developing countries. Through a thorough review of extant literature, we found various standards such as the International Building Code, International Building and Occupational Safety Standard and Local Zoning and Building Codes (Los Angeles) exist, providing guidelines to the top management. These standards ensure structural integrity, fire protection and workplace safety of buildings in addition to guaranteeing a secure, efficient and sustainable work environment. Certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) facilitate UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight garment industry-owners to understand the degree of adherence to these standards. The qualitative data analysis software, NVivo, was used during the initial phase of both within-case and cross-case analysis, which was subsequently followed by a comprehensive analysis. Although these standards are vital for the economic sustainability and social accountability of garment manufacturing establishments, they were not strictly enforced. The enablers were identified to be the certification demand, government verification, and brand’s audit, whereas the barriers were attributed to enforcement capabilities of the building construction authorities, oversight of standards due to financial pressure, mixing of global standards with the local ones, and the bribery and corruption in this sector.