Clothes label (GAP) pulls items made in India

Clothes label pulls items made in India 29 Oct 2007, 0144 hrs IST LONDON/NEW DELHI: International apparel major GAP said on Sunday that it was withdrawing garments sourced from India from its 3,000 stores following allegations of use of child labour by one of the company's vendors in the capital's Shahpur Jat area, possibly setting the stage for retaliation by the Indian government. GAP's action followed an undercover investigation by a British newspaper purportedly showing the use of child labour to manufacture smocked blouses that were headed for shelves in the company's US and European stores ahead of Christmas. The report said that children as young as 10 years old were working for a GAP sub-contractor and complained of working long hours, going unpaid and being subjected to threats and beatings. A 10-year-old boy, filmed making clothes, told the British paper that he had been sold by his family to the factory owner. The boy was said to have been working for four months without pay and would not be allowed to leave the job until the fee his family received had been recovered. The government reacted to the news cautiously with commerce minister Kamal Nath saying his officials would investigate the matter. Though he refrained from commenting on the case till "it has been thoroughly probed", the minister cautioned against the use of non-tariff barriers, like raking up the issue of child labour, as a protectionist device by the developed countries. He warned of retaliation if investigations established that fresh trade barriers were being erected, as was found in Bangalore recently. "I have already written to EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson (on October 23) about non-tariff barriers being used as a protectionist device," Nath told TOI. The hand-stitched tops, which were to be sold for around £20 in the Christmas season, are now being withdrawn. In response to the findings, GAP released a statement saying it was "unacceptable" for children to produce its clothing. "It is clear that one of our vendors violated this agreement, and a full investigation is under way.... After learning of this situation, we immediately took steps to stop this work order and to prevent the product from ever being sold in our stores. We are also convening a meeting of our suppliers where we will reinforce our prohibition on child labour," it said in a statement.

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