Gap Inc.
December 10, 2020
On this Human Rights Day, Gap Inc. recognizes the great challenges in front of all of us, from the global pandemic to civil unrest due to systemic racism to the ever-increasing impacts of climate change. We know that, as a global retailer with a portfolio of purpose-driven brands, we have a responsibility to leverage our platforms for good. While we have much work to do, we are proud of the progress we’re making toward the improvement of health and vitality of the people and communities touched by our business.
As a company, we’ve long held the belief that water is a human right and that everyone should have access clean safe water. That is why we are doing our part to reduce water use in our manufacturing processes and to ensure chemicals used in production do not harm local water systems. Through the Women + Water Alliance, our partnership with USAID, we are supporting women in cotton growing and textile manufacturing communities with access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
In an interview with Jason Morrison, Head of the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, Mark Breitbard, Global Head of Gap said, “We believe water is a human right and it is a critical natural resource for our business…Water is also critical to the health and well-being of the people who make our products, the majority [of which] are women. That is why Gap is taking steps to reduce our water use and ensure that we are contributing to a more sustainable future.”
Water education is also a component of the programming provided by our P.A.C.E. program which provides education and life skill learning, including communication, problem-solving and decision-making, time and stress management, financial literacy, general health and hygiene, negotiation, and interpersonal relationships. Curriculum components including safe water handling practices and the importance of hand-washing and hygiene are especially important to stem the spread of COVID-19. The program expanded in India this year through a partnership with the country’s Ministry on Rural Development, allowing us to reach hundreds of thousands more young women and men with empowering curriculum, and putting us on the path toward our goal of empowering 1 million young people by 2022.
This year, Gap Inc. ranked #5, out of 53 apparel companies, in the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. Progress like this is being made through partnerships like our 20-year relationship with Better Work, a collaborative program between the International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation. They recently published a three year study that showed marked improvements in the communication between Gap Inc.’s workers and their managers, which in turn improved working conditions all around, including production efficiency.
We know that sustainability and human rights go hand-in-hand. Caring for our environment, practicing water stewardship, and choosing more ethically sourced fibers is imperative. Without a thriving planet and healthy communities, we have no business. Today, five years after the Paris Agreement, Gap Inc. is proud to be a signatory of the America Is All In statement, joining U.S. cities, states, tribal nations, businesses, higher ed, faith and more in calling for a national mobilization on climate action and clean recovery.
This year, we partnered with Textile Exchange to gift our Preferred Fibers Toolkit to the apparel industry. And we’re proud to be a member of the S&P Dow Jones World Index for the 8th year in a row: This index distinguishes the top 10% most sustainable companies in each industry out of 4,500 global companies. We also received an A- on the issue of water security, from the CDP.
In addition to the right to have access to clean air and water, we know human rights include the right to be free from violence and discrimination. This year Americans reckoned with the realities of systemic racism permeating throughout every part of our society. Gap Inc. made a set of commitments to ensure that, as a company, we are as inclusive as possible, and that we are contributing to solutions. We’ve made progress by expanding our Equality & Belonging team from 3 to 20, partnerships with organizations like Harlem’s Fashion Row, and more.
This is just a snapshot of the multitude of ways Gap Inc. is working to ensure we are a force for good, contributing to the health of the planet and creating opportunity for all. For more information and to read our latest Global Sustainability Report please visit gapincsustainability.com/
Don’t miss out on the latest Gap Inc. news! Sign-up to get email alerts about news on Gap Inc. and our brands.