Monday, October 29, 2007

Third Strike

Yet again GAP contracts slave work. After the cases in 2004 and 2006, another factory is found using slave children to make GAP products, this time in India.
Again GAP denies any knowledge and discards any responsibility, claiming they simply won’t market the products made by the said factory.
Not enough I’d say. Maybe that would do the first time it happened, but if this kind of situation happens systematically with the same company something smells fishy.
Well, if instead of a big corporation we were talking about a two bit criminal in California he’d be in for life… well, maybe neither US nor international laws would have a way to force GAP out of business, maybe there is no third strike law to prevent companies from using slave work.

But buyers can surely force GAP out of business and with that show all other companies that the world has had enough of slavery.

So if you’re reading this please let all your friends know what is going on and start boycotting all GAP products.

7 comments:

Cream said...

I hope many more companies get found out.
Very hard to police but slowly but surely, if they find that they're being hit in the pocket, these slave-drivers will think twice about using child labour in future.

Unknown said...

Just caught the tail end of a broadcast detailing those findings the other day, Bad news...lets hope the message gets across thats its unnaceptable and take to task those responsible

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I used to think that boycotting was a good idea...then I started thinking about the poor men and women workers who have families to feed, and suppose people boycott the company they work for, and the company closes down. Isn't there another solution?

NML/Natalie said...

I did a study when I was at uni into globalisation in the clothing industry and the trouble is that very often who these companies employ to make their clothes gets subcontracted out and sometimes again and again. These companies only sign up to codes of conduct which is PR speak for that stuff you trot out to the world to make a show of concern. Unfortunately if we do stop shopping in stores like Gap then it's the people at the bottom of this chain that suffer most. However if you refuse to buy full price and only buy sale items, their slaves get paid the same, but Gaps profits to take a knock.

Unknown said...

Still, slavery is criminal. Isn't anyone going to jail over this?

True justice would be a biblical 'eye for an eye'. They should take the entire board of directers and send them to a prison labor-camp. A few years of that ought to make them more careful about who ultimately makes their garments.

Great to hear from you, btw. A DCver-less world is a cold world indeed.

DCveR said...

cream: I really do hope so. They seem to get away easily with local politicians in some countries, but people who buy their products may be a little harder to ignore.

cave renovator: One thing that seems sad to me is the fact that this was one of the "smaller" news...

GG: I really don't think so. I would probably agree if it was the first time, but it's something recurring.

NML: Hello there proud momma! Maybe so... but these days the food industry came up with a new quality issue: traceability. Most food companies trace their products all the way from the producers to the final consumers, and the same is happening with many other types of items. Even wood is being traced to its origin by some furnishing makers to help prevent environmental damage. So if buyers demand a trace of their clothes and boycott those traced to sweatshops...

chill daddy: Thanks. Nope, they will go unpunished. As usual. That's one of the reasons I believe boycotting is the way to go, hurt them the only way you can to make them pay.

Christine said...

This is the first I've heard of this. I like your idea about tracing. I think it could work.