Goals and progress
Supply chain | Helping factories move forward
What should we do when factory problems are found or reported?
We work closely with factory management to develop a plan for improvement based on the number and severity of issues.
Some solutions may be as simple as posting information in a public place or stacking boxes in a different way. In other cases, the issue may be more complex or recurring, calling for a better understanding of what’s causing the problem so that it can be effectively addressed.
Our first approach is to work with management in an attempt to resolve issues. However, we will stop working with a factory if we see significant recurring violations of the standards outlined in our Code of Vendor Conduct and the factory lacks the intent or ability to resolve them.
As we continue in this work, our understanding of the underlying causes of factory problems has evolved. For example, two of our significant findings are:
Factory management may lack the internal infrastructure or skills to be effective due to poor human resource management systems and/or a lack of training. We’re focusing on helping factories develop better systems and talent, which are critical to creating sustainable improvements. Read more about our capacity building work.
Several factors in the supply chain, including our own business practices, contribute to factory working conditions. In order to make progress, factories must take ownership of what happens in their factories and companies must work to balance consumer demand for cheaper, faster products with improving factory working conditions. In addition to improving factory management systems and skills, we’re working to ensure that our purchasing practices are aligned with our social responsibility performance goals. This work includes providing our Gap Inc. sourcing and brand partners with the information they need to make decisions that improve factory performance against our Code of Vendor Conduct standards. Read more about our purchasing practices work.
