Protestors in San Francisco showed up at Gap headquarters demanding the clothing retailer sign on to an international accord protecting the rights of Bangladesh workers at its garment factories, reports India West.
Police arrested two demonstrators when they attempted to stop people from attending the annual shareholder meeting May 21st.
A coalition of international labor groups released the accord after the fire in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 workers.
Several European retailers including H&M have already signed on. But WalMart, Sears, Gap and JC Penney have not.
U.S. retailers are responsible for 20 percent of the garments produced in Bangladesh.
“By charging only 10 cents more per garment, Gap could dramatically change Bangladesh’s garment industry,” Anu Mandavilli, a spokeswoman for Friends Of South Asia told India West. “But it is always a race to the bottom in this industry: you’re going to give the contract to whoever produces the goods most cheaply,”
From @jcpenney via Twitter Re: Protecting rights of Bangladesh Garment Workers: "We're strengthening our audit requirements & supporting the proposals of the N. American Bangladesh Worker Safety Working Group."