Don't Fall Into The GAP

Filed under: Sad Sad

A new investigative report by the U.K.'s The Observer reveals that children are still being used to make clothes for the GAP.

Click here to read the heartbreaking tale of a group of kids in New Delhi that were sold in to slavery by their families and ended up in an underage sweatshop for the retail giant.

Posted: Oct 29, 2007 at 9:47 am / Email this »

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170 comments to “Don't Fall Into The GAP”

More comments: « 1 [2]

Rash Manly says – reply to this

101

SHAME on The Gap!
they may as well start selling fur also
and maybe open a puppy mill in the basement for a side business.
-
SLAP THE GAP! Don't buy their crap!
.
SLAP THE GAP!
.
Ann Coulter says – reply to this

102

You fucking cunt liberals amaze me!!! We're not talking about wholesome white Christian children here, we're talking about non-human 3rd world pieces of shit! You cunts want low prices and then piss and moan about how they get them low!!! I can only hope that they hobble those little animals so they don't escape and drive the prices back up!
molly says – reply to this

103

Calling a place a 3rd world country is really insulting to that country. Americans do that a lot. The preferred term is developing country.

I hate to be the PC police but "3rd world" is a really arrogant American way of describing poorer countries.
Dancer says – reply to this

104

Why would anyone even wear Gap when you could wear Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister.
Fashion_Disasta says – reply to this

105

Its their own fault for hiring tht Joss Stone chick!! Stone ruins everything!!!
molly says – reply to this

106

Visit Vital Voices, Stop Exploitation Now, ECPAT, Doctors Without Borders, Friends International, The Polaris Project, M'Lop Tapang, Green Empowerment, and World Vision and see what these groups are doing to truly help people in developing countries. We must meet the basic needs of all human beings and once those are met we must provide jobs for them so they can provide for themselves. The GAP is creating jobs in very poor countries. This child labor issue is problematic but not the norm for them.
crisaul72 says – reply to this

107

I am a corporate employee for Gap. This article is very troubling, however, we make every effort that child labor is not used to produce gap inc. clothing, this includes Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap. In fact, we have over 90 employees who work extensively in many countries with all vendor to ensure this does not happen. What we have learned is this vendor was "outsourcing" work which is a strict violation of our policy. Please do not take what is written about my company as fact until all parties have weighed in on the issue.
ashley says – reply to this

108

i think it's wonderful that you're posting a story of substance. keep up the good work.
Joe says – reply to this

109

So happy for the kids. Now they can go back to being sex slaves to put food on the table. Use you heads people.
tasher85 says – reply to this

110

aww too bad! that really sucks, a friend of the family just bought my baby boy a gap sweater. this is just sad.
sam says – reply to this

111

to the best of my knowledge Old Navy is owned by Gap
Genevieve says – reply to this

112

Gap destroyed these garments which made the children's hard work in vain. They should have auctioned the items off and funneled those charity dollars back to the children's families.
Alisa says – reply to this

113

This is terrible! I could not in good conscience contribute to children being treated this way, especially not just to save money on clothing.

I feel bad now, thinking of the many nice clothing pieces I have and I now I wonder how many were made by little kids in third world countries (even though I bought all my name branded stuff second hand to save money).

Only one or two pieces of my clothes are Gap clothes but most are other name brands. I wonder how many other clothing brands must surely employ child slaves making the clothes? You never think about that sutf when shopping but it sure highlight how lucky we are to live in America where it is much less likely that your parents would sell you to slavery to make clothes for rich people. It really puts a perpective on things. It's just so horrible that poeple would treat kids like that!! Looking the other way and ignoring that it's happening is the same as saying it's okay. I don't know how companies could allow themself to do business that way.
FAIRTRADE says – reply to this

114

Bless you, Perez, for bringing attention to this HUGE problem!!! Our capitalist society has supported "slave" conditions in factories through out the world. Most clothing that we buy in the US has been made overseas …why?…because of cheap labor. Thus, inhumane working conditions and child labor run rampant.

I urge all Perez readers to support the FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT. Where workers are guaranteed fair pay for their work. Consumers must use their buying power to persuade the major companies to stop pocketing the salaries of their workers.

Check it out: www.maketradefair.com

PEACE
molly says – reply to this

115

I am a big believer in fair trade and have had a retail business that specialized in selling fair trade products. Fair trade right now is a label that is not always accurate. There are a few different fair trade associations that members pay to join so they can use the label. I have seen things labeled fair trade from a country I work in that I know are not. They are sold here in the US. One World Projects is a great company that sells fair trade products. I think Baskets of Cambodia is another one. People should be aware though that at this point being labeled fair trade does not mean it truly is. A large company like the GAP may do more to police their workers than an NGO selling things as "fair trade." I have seen many exploitive so called charities and "fair trade" groups. I think it is a good start but it is a bit naive to assume that if something has that label is it truly fairly produced. As much as we like to bash big companies sometimes they do more to ensure high living standards than other people.
katsu says – reply to this

116

that gap sucks. it's for wannabees.
Sarah says – reply to this

117

I wonder what happened to these kids who spoken to the undercover reporter, AND their first names were published on the newspaper.
Sarah says – reply to this

118

I wonder what happened to these kids who spoke to the undercover reporter, AND their first names were published on the newspaper.
FAIRTRADE says – reply to this

119

Re: molly – Molly you are right. I have also been involved with fairtrade groups and they are not without their flaws it's true. However let's not take away from the groups who are trying hard to make a change. The fair trade movement is still a very worthy cause and should be supported. It is the consumer's responsibillity to try and make ethical purchases whenever possible and to keep companies accountable. The best thing is to spread awareness about fairtrade and let's try to get more legitimately fairtrade products into the USA!
Shireen says – reply to this

120

Angelina Jolie should adopt one.
kayla says – reply to this

121

umm…why is this such a surprise to people? DUHHHHHHHHH!!!!
luli says – reply to this

122

Thank you perez for all the good things you do, the music you turn me on to, the obama info, and thanks for this article— sorry I have nothing witty to say — just thanks
superchick2584 says – reply to this

123

this is such old news…i remember hearing this fact when i was in grade 10…which was 7 years ago!!!
mai says – reply to this

124

i like the picture…when you think of child labor, you think of asians! the old asian lady adds a nice touch considering that old asian ladies don't go to the gap.
IgnorantTwatsSuck says – reply to this

125

Good to see ignorance and racism still well and alive..Hoping for the day everyhting will come full circle and you ignorant first world twats will be licking our third world coochies for spare change
Natalie says – reply to this

126

Who cares. As if it's the gap's fault.. Hey, they keep clothing cheap for u & me! You want some american making $10 an hour making clothes, so we can pay $80 for a $20 gap sweatshirt? duh!
nila says – reply to this

127

I know that this is all true, I work for one of those worldwide companies…
Gigi says – reply to this

128

How dare they have the gall to support the (RED) campaign like they care about people when their clothes are made by children in sweatshops!

Their clothes are ugly and overpriced anyway. Fuck GAP.
Valery says – reply to this

129

Hey Perez.
nice that you address this on your blog and raise awareness on this problem. Thank you!
FUCK YOU PEREZ!! says – reply to this

130

FUCK YOU PEREZ!!! GAP can not be held responsible for the fucked up things the vendors they had hired to manufacture their clothes did.

GAP has over 2,000 vendors around the world.
leesha says – reply to this

131

( gay american people )
s.john says – reply to this

132

this is shitty ???thats wat it is?its a shame that people do this .but id nt think it will eva change even if gap decides to wateva do tho those people .cos this ,is nt just abt one store gap*damn i hate sayin that word* ,there r so many .i think i heard that topshop also does this.it doesnt matter if its africa,india,in asia wateva /??????nothing will eva change ………i feel so so rry fo the parents who fall to sell their kids cos thre is just no atha way
katalia says – reply to this

133

and this is news? are you kidding me? HAHAHAHA. People as SO NAIVE! Good luck finding something that did not as some point go through the hands of a child labourer or someone who was grossly underpaid…
Sew me a Hat says – reply to this

134

At least these kids are getting work. If not for this then what? Some money is better than no money at all.
Caroline says – reply to this

135

Perez, maybe you should fact check and not be so quick to pull the trigger. This is a very serious situation and Gap Inc. has is clear and unambiguous about what their stance is on child labor. It is absolutely against their corporate policy but what are they supposed to do, police the world more than they already do??? Did you know they were the FIRST retailer to publish a corporate social responsibility report? Tons of retailers won't even do that still because it would expose the illegal, disgusting practices that they do. Back off and give Gap some props for actually taking action and not tolerating child labor.
anniemal says – reply to this

136

don't blame the gap, blame the families that sell kids into slavery.
Andrea says – reply to this

137

Duh. Didn't everyone already know this? The GAPR is shit. They always used sweatshops for women and children. All those idiot celebrities who were spokespeople for their RED campaign were ignorant, thinking they were helping, in reality they're hypocrites!
YoYoYo!!! says – reply to this

138

Who cares about those little fuck trophies? I am sure the parents can just squeeze out another one. I need my khakis bitches, and I don't care who makes 'em!
Jane says – reply to this

139

Perez, I'm grateful you're using this platform to share such excellent information; but that the same time, shocked that you were not aware of this. I love your fun stuff, but please do take out a little time to learn more about human rights issues. Oxfam, Amnesty . . . take a look! )
try fair fashion!!! says – reply to this

140

thanks for reporting this…
work for gap says – reply to this

141

I work for the gap in one of their warehouses and they are all about look how generous we are by helping 3rd workd countries and company that treats its employees like shit definitely does not care how its clothes are made they keep telling us how bad business is yet the new Ceo is getting a $12 million dollar bonus. All they care about is how deep their pockets are.
ruri says – reply to this

142

Gap isn't the only store that use sweatshops in other countries. Nike does it in Thailand and wal mart is really bad about using sweatshops in China. If you do a little research you will find that a lot of the clothes you where are made by kids in other countries. it's really sad because the reason they do it is because it is cheaper for them.
ruri says – reply to this

143

and to the people who think you should not blame Gap you should just blame the families is wrong. Gap has the ability to regulate what goes on in those shops they just choose not to.
Lara says – reply to this

144

I don';t buy it about the vendors being the ones to blame. I am sure it was also the GAP. IT is disgusting!!!
sandra says – reply to this

145

i am not shocked at all. i did a project for school on child labout about 3 years ago and GAP was a big child labouring giant, as well as Nike. I'm proud to say I have never worn these brands for that reason. Trust me, companies who use children, know that it's happening. If they say otherwise, they're lying.
sandra says – reply to this

146

Re: elclang – companies know this is happening. thing is, they have to hide it. now they are saying "oh we didn't know." if they cared, they would check out the subcontrator.
Lauren says – reply to this

147

So many people are being ignorant about this and jumping the gun. GAP inc is extremely clear on their rules and enforce them fully. This situation was due to a subcontractor in India not following policy, not GAP directly. Before you start screaming boycott get your facts straight.
molly says – reply to this

148

Not shopping at the GAP will not help the children showcased in the child labor report. The GAP is going to work even harder to prevent situations like this. Large companies like the GAP have the power to force developing countries to put children's rights issues on the table. If you really want to make a difference continue shopping at the GAP and let them know this issue matters to you.
Donate to charities that support small business start ups in developing countries.
The GAP is getting a bum rap here. They do a lot to avoid child labor and this is a really unfortunate situation. They obviously need to do more but if you look at the volumes stuff they sell this is a blip on the radar.
Garment jobs in developing countries employ a lot of vulnerable people who have no other employment alternatives.
Child labor is not acceptable and people need to make a living wage but we need to realize that not all garment factories are sweatshops.

We also need to realize that boycotting businesses can hurt the wrong people. I work in developing countries and many of my clients hope to get garment jobs so they can feed their families. These jobs are often their only option.
It is very hard to find jobs for people who may have minimal educations at best. Garment work is easy to train for.

Boycotts like sanctions very often hurt the most innocent people we are trying to support.
isabella says – reply to this

149

the gap uses child slave labor along with old navy, wal mart, kohls, and many more retail stores.

worlds finest chocolate (a company that provides chocolate for fundraisers at school or church) also uses child slave labor at cocoa farms in africa!

why cant we make our own stuff?
Genius says – reply to this

150

Seriously who's shocked by this? Maybe all the brain dead celebrities who have been paid thousands of dollars to do ads for GAP while they preach to me give my money to global warming. F off
fuckfuckignaisdjitj says – reply to this

151

I'm never shopping at that immoral dump again! Shame on you for using innocent kids as your slaves, shame shame shame..and anybody that continues to shop for those monsters after this should be ashamed of themselves. Burn in hell gap!
FSF says – reply to this

152

MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS

DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP DEATH TO GAP
jen says – reply to this

153

I would like to see more posts like this in the future. You really have the power to affect people whether positively or negatively and its awesome to see that you are promoting social awareness. Keep up the good work!
Melissa says – reply to this

154

Not shopping at Gap (and 100 other brands) won't help the situation.
Since it is unrealistic to ask these companies to share their revenue with these workers (instead of share holders), only way to help them is by us paying $150 per t-shirt, $200 for khaki pants…

Pair of regular Nike will be $500.
Maia says – reply to this

155

I think the only ppl defending this situation are actual GAP owners/stakeholders. Anyway this is quite sad as I own a lot of gap clothing. I don't blame GAP but myself for shopping there. This is not something new. We've known before too of children making clothes for western consumption. For a while the topic was ignored, I guess now it's brought to attention, mine anyway. God help me, as I do what ever it takes to stop myself and my friends from shopping at such places. I just feel sick looking at my closet and wondering which one of my shirts/pants were made by tiny oppressed hands.
C says – reply to this

156

I love how they have the whole inspi(red) campain to help children with aids in africa…. yet they have no problem employing children in india.
buy american!
It's GAP's fault says – reply to this

157

Re: GAP –
Hey Gap - it is your business to know who you are subcontracting to.
Company as big as Gap and the $$$, it is your responsibility to check every companies you rely on inside/out, especially in the area prone to these incidents. If a newspaper company can send in the undercover, why didn't Gap do the same? Such a small effort to ensure the reputation of your brand and protect billions of revenue.
queen b says – reply to this

158

check your shit people…GAP is NOT condoning child labor. They have already reacted and have shut down over 23 factories that did not measure up to factory policies. They have one of THE BEST track records in retail for preventing this . It is a sub contyractor that broke rules not THE GAP. Do your research people.
lindsay says – reply to this

159

I can guarantee you all that Gap has rectified this situation that they were not even aware was occuring. Furthermore, did you know that the Gap employess 90 peopl who just go to factory to ensure the correct laws are being followed?
nits says – reply to this

160

No#69 PEOPLE NOT PRODUCTS
Your friggin' economy would collapse if you start boycotting products made in India, China and Bangladesh because apart from toxic waste, you are not capable of manufacturing anything indigenously.
Secondly, you may boycott The Gap all you want, but it does not change the fact that child labour in developing countries is a reality. You may talk all you want about protecting childhood and child education, for countries in which a majority live on under a dollar a day, work, no matter how punishing, means food. There is no justification for Child Labour, but is it better for millions of children who's families can't support them anyways, to not do anything and instead live on the streets and take to a life of crime? Social reforms are happening in such countries, but it takes time. Do not look at everything from a US(read priveleged, educated, over-fed) point-of-view…life is not all black and white!
responsible reporting says – reply to this

161

What happened to responsible journalism? Anyone who does any kind of research after hearing this knows that GAP does not allow vendors to use child labor for any of its products. If a vendor violates the policy they have to pay for the children's education and vocational training until they are of legal working age. They also have one of the largest systems in place to help prevent and monitor working conditions of their vendors. Perez needs to practice a little social responsibility himself.
wowsey says – reply to this

162

Perez. Thank you for exposing this here.
We Care says – reply to this

163

Boycott Gap and all thier sister companies….Old Navy, etc. NOW
anonymous says – reply to this

164

you people are retarded. i'm pretty sure every store that you shop at have child labourers. its not just the gap. if you want to boycott gap, why don't you just go around naked to prove your point.
Carlos says – reply to this

165

Let's fuck to Gap , making money on kid's shoulders, Boycott to GAP
kim says – reply to this

166

Re: beckey – becky you dumbass gap hires people only 18 or over.
READ, DON'T BANDWAGON says – reply to this

167

While this lapse in ethics is heartbreaking, Gap Inc. is in no way condoning child labor. They have the most stringent corporate responsibility policies in the retail industry and have 90+ full-time, locally-based employees conducting investigations like the Observor's reporter — every day, unnanounced, including interviews with vendor employees off-site to get the truth about working conditions. While the press fallout is unfortunate, Gap Inc. is grateful that this abuse situation has been brought to their attention — they have dealt with the vendor who ILLEGALLY subcontracted work to the offending sweatshop WITHOUT GAP'S KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT. All vendors and subcontractors must go through a long and rigorous inspection prior to receiving business, and in fact approval from Gap is widely considered to be the highest commendation for ethical standards within the industry.
READ, DON'T BANDWAGON says – reply to this

168

Please read the full Observor article (and Gap's press release and corporate social responsibility report) and be informed before you judge. We all must continue to strive for ethical treatment of our brothers and sisters in developing nations, but Gap Inc. is no villain here. I have witnessed the corporate production teams in action, and preventing child labor is always top of mind. The company also works with garment workers in all countries where they do business to promote educational opportunities for their families. FYI Gap Inc. is also attempting to tackle extremely difficult gender-equality issues facing the vast majority of their vendor's female workforce (like how to approach domineering sexual partners about using contraceptives). These are not even their direct employees, but Gap uses a significant portion of its profits to fund important projects like these. I am proud of Gap's conduct and policies over the past few years and am confident they will continue to set the bar for the industry's ethics standards.
Win Some, Lose Some says – reply to this

169

Although it is hard to hear that children in developing nations are still forced to work in the horrible conditions of sweatshops…imagine where the children would end up if they didn't have these jobs. Most areas still don't even have clean drinking water and are stuck in a state of perpetual poverty. Without these jobs, most of children would end up being sold to child prostitution, live on the street, or just die of starvation. Something to think about.
free50free says – reply to this

170

You guys are so stupid. I work for headquarters and have to give it to the GAP. They go above and beyond probably every other company out there to ensure their policies are inforced. Just for the record. Gap is not the same quality as Old Navy. If you ask me we have the same quality as some of the more expensive clothing companies. You want to talk about ripoffs. To all you Abercrombie lovers you'd die if you knew how much they made their shit for. I know people who work at headquarters their too. Anyways. Peace.