Gap Inc. Sets New Goal For Apparel Suppliers To Pay Garment Workers Digitally By 2020
Thursday, March 15, 2018
In a move to improve the livelihoods of garment workers and help improve supply chain transparency and efficiency, Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today announced a bold new goal for all of its tier 1 suppliers – approximately 800 factories in about 30 countries – to make the transition from a cash-based system to digital payments by 2020.
More than 60 percent of Gap Inc.’s supplier factories already provide digital payments methods, such as online transfers to bank accounts or mobile wallets. The new goal will help scale this progress across the company’s global supply chain and positively impact the lives of more than one million garment workers.
Women makeup about 80 percent of the world’s garment industry workforce but often live in a cash-only environment and lack access to formal financial services. Electronic wage payment methods have the benefit of drawing previously unbanked workers into the formal financial system, allowing women greater control over their finances and a safer way to save, send money, and invest. At the factory level, suppliers benefit from cost savings, due to increased efficiency and speed. All parties also benefit from increased accountability, transparency, and security.
Photo courtesy of ILO in Asia and the Pacific.
Source: Better Than Cash Alliance (link opens in a new window)
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