GAP Clothing Found Guilty of Child Labor Abuses (Again)
The GAP has come under fire again for child labor violations. I thought the following two articles would be of interest to some of you:
The Original Article from the Observer (British Newspaper) Exposing GAP
Article from Commondreams.org about GAP’s Actions in Response to the Findings
Love to hear your thoughts…
Wow. I knew this kind of thing happens, but I have never heard first hand accounts of it. I guess its not that difficult to believe with billion dollar industries but it is kind of depressing. If Gap, the founder (I believe?) of RED is being publicized for using child labor (although possibly unknowingly), then what about cheaper companies like Old Navy, Walmart, Target, etc? It becomes so much harder to buy clothing because you can’t ever completely know that your new pair of jeans is fair trade. That is where this gets extremely difficult because it seems that ignorance is bliss, not to mention cheaper. Its very frustrating. May be I’ll just learn to make my own clothes…lol. Maybe not…do you have any resources for what retailers claim to be free trade and are credible?
Thanks Jessica for the note…
You know, making one’s own clothes has actually been an option for many…:) (My mom actually made most of her own clothes, but not for this reason…more because she wanted to save money and it didn’t hurt that she a textile background.) A rabbit trail…sorry.
Back to the GAP… To their credit, they did respond quickly to the findings. Be mindful that keeping things like this in check, especially with sub-contractors, can be a very complex and difficult endeavor. In addition, multiply that dynamic by the number of countries you are in… (the GAP being in 50 at least). Nevertheless, this in no way excuses their practice (even if it was the practice of one of their sub-contracted factories) – look at the 2nd article.
You are right in questioning the practices of some of these huge-savings marketed retailers (e.g., Walmart). We should continue to ask some of these tough questions. You’ll actually find that in some cases, the answers are definitely legitimate.
In other words, our goal is not to be ANTI-CORPORATION, it’s in hopes that we can hold each other accountable towards the way we treat fellow human beings – no matter what their socio-economic level.
Appreciate the conversation.