Ethics Newsline®

SAN FRANCISCO
Popular U.S. clothing retailer Gap Inc. last week released a report aimed at gauging its factories’ compliance with ethics standards, winning praise for its candor in admitting that there are problems.

After two years of pushing by labor-rights and anti-sweatshop groups, Gap, which also operates the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, undertook the massive effort of inventorying practices at roughly 3,000 overseas factories spread throughout more than 50 countries.

Although about 90 percent of factories failed to meet company standards upon initial inspection, Gap said that many facilities were able to make improvements, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

Still, the company conceded, “few factories, if any, are in full compliance all of the time.”

Problems cited in the 44-page report include improper storage of hazardous materials, machinery without sufficient safety devices, inadequate first aid, anti-union activities, discrimination, and underage workers.

Gap said it closed down 136 factories last year due to severe or repeated violations, with China and Southeast Asia accounting for the highest number of closures at 42 each, reported the Reuters news agency.

Gap chief executive Paul Pressler last week helped release the report, urging other clothing firms to join in a common effort to set uniform standards for foreign factories, noted the Mercury News.

“We feel strongly that commerce and social responsibility don’t have to be at odds,” Pressler said.

Conrad MacKerron of the As You Sow Foundation, which had been pushing for the Gap to audit its factories, welcomed last week’s report as an important step for the garment industry.

“If Gap can do its report without damage to its supply chain, we intend to now go ask their competitors, ‘Why can’t you also report so we can compare their performance to your performance?’” MacKerron told the Mercury News.