By demonstrating leadership in categories such as compliance and ethics, corporate responsibility, sustainability and governance, GAP Inc. was recently recognized by Ethisphere Institute, the American Management Consulting Firm, as one of the world’s most ethical companies for eight years in a row. “We view this recognition from the Ethisphere Institute as another example that we are living up to our company’s promise – ‘to do more than sell clothes,” said Wilma Wallace, Vice President, GAP Inc. Time and again the American retailer has been in the news for introducing social initiatives authenticating its position as one of the most sustainable brands globally.
Amongst its various sustainable initiatives, GAP is the first American retailer to set its minimum hourly rate for the US employees at US $ 9, which will be further raised to US $ 10 in 2015 affecting 65,000 US employees, setting an example for others to follow. These changes have come in the wake of various debates surrounding increase in minimum wages, which is being considered an initiator for aligning the retailer’s social responsibility mission with its labour practices – particularly for its foreign workers. “To us, this is not a political issue. Our decision to invest in frontline employees will directly support our business, and is one that we expect to deliver a return many times over,” said Glenn Murphy, GAP Chairman and CEO.
In India, GAP Inc.’s P.A.C.E. program which has been operational since 2007 has provided female garment workers with technical skills to move up in the workplace and better their own lives and the lives of those around and the community. One of GAP’s largest vendors in India, Shahi has further pledged to provide P.A.C.E. training to all its 60,000 workers by the end of 2020. Swasti, a health resource centre, has been participating in the development and implementation of this program since 2007 and according to Swasti, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) evaluation of the P.A.C.E. program has found that “GAP Inc.’s voluntary education and training program for female garment workers helped boost women’s sense of self-worth, their confidence in addressing issues at work and at home and their performance at work. ICRW finds the GAP Inc. P.A.C.E. program yield high returns for women and businesses.” GAP which currently employs 70 per cent female workers in its retail and corporate office, through this program covers topics of relevance such as improved communication, better management of finances, problem solving, nutrition, hygiene, etc.
Sharing other initiatives of GAP in India with Apparel Online, Courtney Wade, spokesperson for GAP Inc. informed, “We have supported handwork centres in Northern India where at risk women can work safely, and a regional education initiative that helps raise awareness of how to avoid traffickers. Also our partnership with expert groups in India, such as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), and National Homeworkers’ Group (NHG), are examples of working with local organizations and development experts to address the root causes of child labour.”
Meanwhile, this Women’s Day the retailer has further extended the P.A.C.E. program by introducing ‘One Stitch Closer’, a new program that extends GAP’s long-standing commitment of supporting women. ‘One Stitch Closer’ will share the stories, ideas, accomplishments and challenges of these women and other change agents, who focus on making themselves and the world better every day. “When a woman moves ahead, we all do. This program is a small step to creating big change. By inspiring each other every day, we get one stitch closer to a brighter world,” reasons Seth Farbman, GAP Global Chief Marketing Officer.
[bleft]GAP is the first American retailer to set its minimum hourly rate for the US employees at US $ 9, which will be further raised to US $ 10 in 2015 affecting 65,000 US employees.[/bleft]
The American retailer is also amongst the first three US companies along with Walmart and Children’s Place to contribute US $ 40 million worth of funds for victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh last April, in which more than 1100 workers died. Bill Chandler, GAP’s spokesman, informed “Rana Plaza underscores the need for Government, factory owners, development organizations, labour groups and retailers to take action to improve the lives of garment workers. The donation by the GAP Foundation was just one action of many to see lasting change occur in Bangladesh.”
Although the company’s social initiatives are well documented, they are equally active on the environment front. In order to further its environmental responsibility, the retailer very closely monitors the manufacturing of clothes at various destinations and also how they are packaged and shipped to the design of the stores. GAP stores and distribution centres incorporate the use of renewable energy, waste reduction and also lowering power usage. Further the company has set an ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 per cent in the US by 2015 using a 2008 baseline. Till date, the retailer has diverted 75 per cent of the building waste from going to the landfill, of its San Francisco headquarters by recycling and composting. As a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the retailer is further quantifying its sustainability impact of garment design and production.
[bleft]GAP stores and distribution centres incorporate the use of renewable energy, waste reduction and also lowering power usage. Further the company has set an ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 per cent in the US by 2015 using a 2008 baseline.[/bleft]
Taking the environment initiative to the manufacturing bases, workshops on climate change were conducted over the course of 14 sessions in five countries including India, over the last one year. In total, 285 individuals were trained, representing 139 vendors to date. “We plan to continue rolling out these workshops in key sourcing countries, and are committed to enhancing and evolving the curriculum to ensure it covers the most important environmental issues to our suppliers, our stakeholders, and our company,” informed Courtney Wade.
Even after the active involvement in various environmental and social initiatives, the retailer has often been criticized for its policies. The case in point, GAP’s approach to the Rana Plaza incident had been controversial as the retailers along with its alliance of 15 partners have been criticized by labour rights groups for not including requirements to allow supplier workers, mostly women earning low wages, to form unions. Nevertheless the retailer has always revived its position of being the most ethical company by initiating people-friendly or environment-friendly approaches.
