Last week, various news outlets reported that Gap mislabeled a number of bags in the FEED Collection. Recent updates show that this isn’t exactly what occurred.
Gap mislabeled the origin of the bags. However, the mislabeling occurred on store signs, not on the bag’s label. According to CNN.com, “The bags were displayed next to a sign explaining the FEED USA campaign, which invited shoppers to ‘buy the limited edition bags and we'll donate $5 to our nation's school lunch programs.’ Stamped on the sign was a ‘Made in USA’ logo, which was true of most of the collection's bags, except for the denim bags in question, which bore "Made in China" tags.”
Gap’s misleading signage has sparked a nationwide debate. Is it OK for Gap exploit American patriotism by selling products made from overseas labor? A Gap spokesperson stated that Gap is donating $150,000 to U.S. school lunch programs. My question is, if Gap manufactured more products on U.S. soil, would a $150,000 donation to school lunch programs be necessary?
Furthermore, according to Gap Inc.’s Fiscal Year2009 Annual Statement, Gap’s sales (Gap North America, Banana Republic North America, Old Navy, International and Gap Inc. International) reached $5.5 billion. United States sales contributed approximately $3.5 Billion of $5.5 billion. [Some Food For Thought: Gap is donating $1 for approximately every $2.3 million U.S. consumers spent in fiscal year 2009.]
Maybe instead of focusing on misleading signage, U.S. consumers should question Gap executives as to why U.S. consumers are spending billions of dollars on Gap products, yet the bulk of the products are manufactured overseas.
