Boston, MA 10/23/2013 (wallstreetpr) – The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) has been suffering a lot recently as The Other 98% , TheContributor.com, and Indigenous Designs launched a human rights campaign, Shop Your Values, that encourages shoppers to boycott Old Navy, Banana Republic stores, and GAP as they have refused to sign the Bangladesh Worker Safety Accord.
Throughout Europe and the United States, over 90 retailers and brands have signed the accord. This accord requires companies to help pay for renovations in the factory and strict inspections to assure safe working conditions for the workers that place their products in the markets of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporter of the world.
This campaign, Shop Your Values, was launched because of the fire that caught the factory of Bangladesh last week and killed about 10 workers. This event took place just 6 months after the collapse of a garment factory building that killed 1,100 people. The sponsors of the campaign created a website. Here visitors can pledge to boycott the brand GAP and its subsidiaries. The website is www.shopyourvalues.org.
The website also characterizes articles about the factory working conditions and the Bangladesh Safety Accord. The signed pledges would be sent to the executives of Bangladesh, and people are encouraged to print the letter and deliver it to a local Banana Republic, Old Navy, or GAP store.
The publisher of TheContributor.com, Chris Dykstra, said that the company, GAP, Inc. puts people in harm’s way at the factories so as to boost its profits. Chris is a co-sponsor of the Shop Your Values campaign. He said that this business practice should be opposed by the business community and customers on a larger scale. Those communities that practice this should not be rewarded in the market. The co-founder of The Other 98%, John Sellers, further said that he is adding his voice to the calls for justice in Bangladesh for the garment workers.
