Gap: End Deathtraps Now (E-action)

[Omaha Steve]

http://gapdeathtraps.com/


People killed in preventable factory fires and building collapses in the Bangladesh garment industry since 2005: 1762






Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of clothing. Many of the garment factories are death traps. In December 2010, 29 workers were killed at a Gap supplier factory. Gap is a major producer in Bangladesh and labor groups are urging Gap to become an industry leader in factory safety. Gap was not a buyer at the sites of the most recent disasters – Tazreen and Rana Plaza – but their leadership could help prevent further tragedies from happening in the Bangladesh garment industry.
In the News

New York Times Editorial – May 4, 2013
Worker Safety in Bangladesh and Beyond
“Big garment buyers like Walmart, H&M and Gap have tremendous power to improve conditions in that market. Industry officials and labor groups have been discussing a legally binding agreement requiring Western brands and retailers to conduct independent factory inspections and to help pay for factory renovations, like adding external fire exits and smoke alarms. Some labor groups estimate it would cost $3 billion over five years to bring Bangladesh’s roughly 4,500 factories into compliance with building and fire standards. That is a small price to pay given the country’s $18 billion in annual clothing exports, or $90 billion over five years. Two companies — PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and the German retailer Tchibo — have signed on to such an agreement. Other companies must get on board, and the industry should, eventually, extend it to other developing countries.”

Boston Globe Editorial – May 5, 2013
Global brands must step in to protect worker safety
“Labor-rights groups are calling on all global brands — including Walmart, Gap, and H&M — to sign a building and safety agreement for Bangladesh, a binding commitment to require more rigorous inspections and more transparency about the results. Bangladesh’s government also needs to take more responsibility for protecting workers. It’s not a panacea against abuse, but it is a useful step in preventing another Rana Plaza.”

Bloomberg View – May 2, 2013
How to Fix Bangladesh’s Factories
“Retailers can ensure factory improvements are made by signing on to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, a program promoted by workers’ rights advocates. The agreement would establish a chief inspector—independent of companies, trade unions, and factories—to execute a safety program. Audits of hazards would be made public. Corrective actions recommended by the inspector would be mandatory. Retailers would agree to pay factories enough so that they could afford renovations, and retailers would be forbidden from doing business with noncompliant facilities. These obligations would be enforceable through the courts in retailers’ home countries. Signing now offers protection for Bangladesh’s workers against factory catastrophes.”

New York Times Editorial – April 25, 2013
Another preventable tragedy in Bangladesh
“The severity and frequency of these disasters are an indictment of global clothing brands and retailers like Walmart, H&M and the Gap, which buy billions of dollars of clothes from Bangladesh but have so far refused to demand and pay for adequate safeguards at the factories that fill their orders… Companies like Walmart and the Gap have offered some half-measures on safety for garment workers, but they can do much more. In addition to demanding and paying for safer factories, they need to put pressure on the owners and Ms. Hasina to allow unions and improve inspections. They are Bangladesh’s customers, and what they say carries real weight. It’s time they spoke up.”

This campaign is a project of United Students Against Sweatshops and the International Labor Rights Forum