Apparel companies like H&M, Benetton, and Zara are rushing to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement in the wake of a tragic Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,200 workers. But Gap is lagging behind its competitors.
Gap says it will only sign the agreement if it isn't binding. We need to let Gap know that this isn't acceptable.
Click here to download a letter to Gap store managers and get instructions on delivering it.
Incredible news! There's been a sea change in the global apparel industry. Since Monday H&M, Zara, Benetton and more have signed the legally-binding Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement. They are joined by several other European apparel brands and grocery giants Tesco, El Corte Ingles, and Loblaw (parent company of Joe Fresh). These companies have taken the steps necessary to prevent future tragedies, like the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,200 workers last month.
Today there's a new standard for ethical sourcing in the garment industry, but shamefully, Gap is still dragging its feet. The apparel giant, one of the largest purchasers of Bangladeshi garments, says it will sign the Agreement, as long as it isn't legally binding. That's ridiculous -- even the rest of the garment industry acknowledges that corporate-controlled codes of conduct have failed and that legally-binding safety standards are necessary to ensure that the clothes we buy aren't made in death traps. Essentially Gap is saying "we'll sign, as long as no one can hold us accountable when we don't follow through".
May 15 was the deadline that global labour groups had set for brands to sign the Agreement, and we've never been closer to ensuring that Bangladeshi garment workers don't have to die on the job. We need to let Gap know that consumers won't tolerate any more delays as most of its major competitors do right by Bangladeshi workers. Hundreds of SumOfUs.org members around the world have delivered letters to Gap store managers demanding that the chain sign the agreement and now it's more important than ever to ratchet up the pressure!
You can also email Gap's PR team at press@gap.com and let them know that a non-binding agreement won't cut it.
The SumOfUs.org community has been instrumental to the progress we're making.
Thank you for keeping up the fight,
Marguerite, Rob, Taren, Kaytee and the team at SumOfUs.org
P.S. If you can, send us a photo of your delivery to reportback@sumofus.org. Thank you!
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In the wake of the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 Bangladeshi garment workers last November, the SumOfUs.org community mobilised to show these brands that we are paying attention to the deplorable conditions in their supply chain. With our help, Sumi Abedin, a Tazreen survivor, and Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labour activist, came to the U.S. to challenge brands to take responsibility for their workers' safety. Retailers don't want to listen to them, but this latest tragedy shows how urgent these reforms are. Gap might not have sourced from Rana Plaza, but if it doesn't sign the building safety agreement, a similar disaster could strike a Gap supplier any day.
It would be easy for Gap to ensure that that people making its clothes have access to fire extinguishers and unlocked doors and other basic fire safety precautions that we take for granted. Other retailers, like the German retailer Tchibo and PVH (which own Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger), have already signed on to the Bangladesh Fire Safety Agreement. This agreement funds independent monitoring and investments in the most basic safety precautions. But instead of joining this existing program, Gap struck out on its own, creating a program that's not accountable to anyone except Gap shareholders.
For the last month, hundreds of thousands Bangladeshi workers walked off the job and took to the streets demanding justice. They're marching on government offices and the headquarters of the country's main manufacturer's association. Their allies around the world have been building pressure on apparel brands. All of them have one simple message: no one should die making clothes. We want make sure Gap gets the message.
Yes! Sign me up to drop off a letter at a Gap store.
Check out some press on this issue:
"Gap close to signing Bangladesh factory safety plan" USA Today, May 14
"Rescuers Still Hope For Survivors In Bangladesh Collapse," NPR, April 26
"Big brands rejected Bangladesh factory safety plan," Yahoo! News, April 26
SumOfUs is a world-wide movement to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.