Old Navy's Textile Industry

The majority of my clothing did not come from the United States- with the exception of a sweater that came from USA. This did surprise me because I was expecting more to be made in USA because we were once known for our textile industry. I knew that Old Navy and Gap were known to outsource their factories to places like these with long hours, child labor, and low wages. To my great surprise, even high-end brands such as Michael Kors and Nine West seemed to do the same thing!The pattern of cheap labor, high quality clothes, both of which are mostly found in developing countries, can be changed but only over the course of time and the economy of the country. in many of the countries, such as India, suffer from corrupt governments and absolute poverty. Some say something is better than nothing- as in low wages are better than no wages. The problem comes in when companies aren’t directly selecting factory locations and supervising the conditions of the workplace. Most of the time, the companies outsource this project to a supplier and they may inevitably use child labor to meet the demand of the company. If the company doesn’t perform strict …show more content…
Most store locations are in the US but Old Navy provides international shipping. Over 70% of Old Navy’s production centers are in Bangladesh, and the remaining 30% in Pakistan, India, and Southeast Asia. There have been many labor controversies, such as unpaid overtime work, unsafe working conditions, and child labor.
Two other companies have made similar decisions- Gap and Banana Republic. Gap has been involved in several lawsuits alleging that works do not get paid, salaries aren’t recorded in books, and supplier are corrupt. After the 2013 Rana Plaza Building collapse in Bangladesh, where 1,130 people died, Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic joined Kohl’s for the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety to improve safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment