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Gap spokeswoman Laura Wilkinson told CNNMoney that "we recognize that the global apparel industry still faces challenges." She said the company is working with garment workers, suppliers, unions and governments "to develop solutions that matter most to workers and contribute most directly to improving their lives."
Walmart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, of which it is a member, and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, of which it is not, "are essentially parallel paths forward," with "a common goal to improve the lives of garment workers in Bangladesh by upgrading factory fire and safety conditions."
H&M did join the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, along with Adidas (ADDDF), American Eagle, Fruit of the Loom and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). But that didn't stop the alliance from issuing a third,
scathing report about H&M, alleging "intensive labour exploitation and abuse faced by workers in H&M supply chains in Cambodia and India."
A spokeswoman for H&M said, "H&M has been working actively for many years to help strengthen the textile workers' conditions. The challenges addressed in the report on industry wide and we firmly believe that in addition to our efforts as an individual company, collaboration is key.
Report slams Walmart for 'exploitative' conditions in Asia factories