Wednesday, May 12, 2004 Email this to a friend
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Gap concedes conditions poor at many garment factories its uses worldwide
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apparel marketer Gap Inc. conceded Wednesday the global manufacturing network it uses to make its clothes offers low paying work under often hazardous conditions.
In an unusual report, the clothier said it found a range of workplace violations in thousands of inspections in 2003 of the more than 3,000 factories worldwide that produce goods for Gap.
The violations included improper storage of hazardous or combustible materials, machinery that lacked "some operational safety devices" and inadequate first aid and fire safety, according to the report.
Officials at San Francisco-based Gap have previously defended their relationships with plants in about 50 countries that supply its Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, saying they abided by the company's "ethical sourcing" policy which pledged fair treatment of workers.
But in the new report, Gap said: "Few factories, if any, are in full compliance all of the time."
Still, the retailer noted, conditions in factories that want to do business with the retailer often are worse, the report said. About 90 per cent of factories that Gap officials review as potential partners fail an initial inspection. Though most correct what's wrong, according to the report, the company ultimately rejects about one in six manufacturers.
Gap said it revoked contracts with 136 factories in 2003 because of persistent or severe violations, including two instances of underage workers.
The report comes as the clothier is struggling to sustain a retail sales turnaround following several years of poor performance.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
