Gap is matching funds of any eligible Gap employee who donates to the aid group Mercy Corps in response to the devastating earthquake that recently hit Nepal and the surrounding area, the US fashion giant said on Saturday. The disaster has injured over 8,000 people and killed more than 4,400 by Tuesday.
“Gap Inc. and our employees extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and the families of all those affected by the devastating earthquake in Nepal, and those impacted across South Asia,” the company said in a statement.
In respond to the concerns about whether the earthquake may have resulted in structural damage in some Bangladesh garment factories, the company said it’s working with the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (AFBWS) on the ground, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, and the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that all workers are safe.
AFBWS is a group of 26 major global retailers formed to develop and launch the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative, a binding, five-year undertaking with the intent of improving safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment factories after the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse. Gap is a founding member of the group.