Gap to get labour right.

Clothing retailer Gap is a new member of the UK's Ethical Trading Initative (ETI), becoming the third large US corporation to join the scheme.

According to Anne Gust, who is compliance officer for Gap, membership is part of the company's approach to improve garment factory working conditions.

Says Gust: "we realize we can't do this work alone. We look forward to learning from ETI members and working collaboratively to address labour issues."

ETI's work includes identifying and promoting good practices in supply chain labour conditions, primarily in the food and clothing sectors. The ultimate goal is to ensure that conditions for workers producing goods for the UK market meet or exceed international labour standards.

ETI only accepts a company for membership following a rigorous review process to assess a company's commitment to implementing the ETI Base Code with suppliers.

About 3,000 garment factories in about 50 countries produce merchandise for Gap Inc's Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap brands.

To do business with Gap, garment manufacturers are required to comply with the company's Code of Vendor Conduct, which defines labour and health and safety standards.

The company has about 90 full-time employees worldwide who monitor factories on compliance issues and work with manufacturers, non-governmental organisations and unions to improve conditions.

Under the ETI Base Code, public reporting is an important expectation and in May 2004 Gap published its first social responsibility report, which is available online at gapinc.com.

from Martin Evans, London Office