Yes, GAP is a fast fashion brand.
GAP is the flagship brand of GAP Inc., an American fashion retail conglomerate which also owns Athleta, Baby GAP, Banana Republic, Hill City, Intermix, Janie & Jack, Old Navy, and Yeezy GAP. GAP Inc. was founded by husband and wife duo, Donald Fisher and Doris Fisher (worth over $5 billion collectively), and sells high street fashion across its worldwide network of stores, as well as its international websites. As a group, it made over $13 billion in revenue in 2021.
GAP is a fast fashion brand due to the speed of production and scale of clothes that it sells.
Fashion Revolution Transparency Rating: 49/100
Ethical Consumer Score: 4/15
Good On You Sustainability Rating: 3/5
Additional Reasons Why GAP Is A Fast Fashion Brand
Over the past few years, GAP Inc. has only made a small investment into sustainability. It focuses on eco-friendly materials for its credentials, with some way to go in mapping its supply chain, reducing energy usage, or simply making less clothing.
GAP has faced labour controversies since the 1990s, including:
- Using sweatshops in Saipan, who were overworked, experiencing unsafe working conditions, and women were subjected to forced abortion. The business settled this case in a class action lawsuit alongside other accused brands in 2003.
- In 2006, they were found to be sourcing from a Jordanian factory that committed child and adult labour abuses. The business ceased its relationship with this factory in 2018 – 12 years later.
- In 2007, BBC reported on GAP using child labour in Indian factories.
- In 2020, the business stopped paying garment factories due to covid-19 and is yet to rectify this.
In 2022, GAP was found to have multiple links to JBS, a Brazilian firm responsible for much of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest through cattle rearing and leather production.
In late 2022, GAP was found to be sourcing polyester from a manufacturer using Russian oil, despite having suspended deliveries to the country in protest of the illegal war on Ukraine.
Sustainable Alternatives To GAP
If you’re looking to stop shopping at GAP, and its range of sister brands, I recommend taking a look at my guide to 150+ sustainable fashion brands or heading to my favourite second-hand fashion sites.
This post is part of a larger guide to UK fast fashion brands, which goes into more detail about the issues with fast fashion, why it will never be sustainable, and how to make your wardrobe more sustainable.
Data for this review is taken from the brand’s website, corporate website, Wikipedia, and sites linked throughout. The Transparency Rating is from Fashion Transparency Index 2021. All information is assumed correct at date of publication.