GAP In India

Gap Inc. owns thirty-one hundred stores worldwide, in comparison that's only one ninth to McDonald's twenty-eight thousand restaurants worldwide. Founded in 1969, Gap Inc. remains the largest apparel retailer in the United States, under the five main brands, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and the namesake Gap banner. In the year 2006, Gap become as "part of the solution" advertising for the global fund, Product (Red). Product (Red), according to their website, (www.joinred.com) "has become the dominant financier of programs to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria, with fifteen billion dollars for programs in 140 countries." Gap became very involved by selling Product (Red) t-shirts between the price range of fifteen dollars to thirty dollars, accessories, and suggesting customers to become Sneake(Red). A little less than a year since Gap was inspi(red), an article entitled "Child sweatshops [threatened] Gap's ethical image" was written for public viewings. It was brought to the attention of the public that children as young as ten years old in India were working in illegal sweatshops for Gap. In India, child sweatshop labor has risen so much that it has become the world capital for child labor in the last decade. Child labor contributes an estimated twenty percent of India's gross national product, over 55 million children aged from five to fourteen are employed across the business and domestic sectors, according to the United Nations. Prior to The Observer's investigation and article entitled, "Child sweatshop threatens Gap's ethical image," by Dan McDougall, Russ McBee's blog states that it isn't Gap's first time being caught using child labor. "In 2004, when it launched its social audit, it admitted that forced labor, child labor, wages below the minimum wage, physical punishment and coercion were among abuses it had found at some factories producing garments for it. It added that it had terminated contracts with 136 suppliers as a consequence," McBee exclaims. Alongside Gap, the British equivalent to the United States Wal-mart, Tesco pays Indian garment workers only half a living wage, about $3.00 a day. In the Eight Oscar award winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal, in a childhood flashback is captured along with other children by Maman, "who pretends to run an orphanage so that he can ultimately train them to beg for money." Maman ends up doing more harm then anticipated, by burning the eye of a child because he says, "blind singers get paid double."