Casual fashion brand Gap has built its name on affordable closet staples and on “Empowering Women.” But a recent case in a Haitian factory that sews for Gap Inc.’s Old Navy brand is calling Gap’s commitment to women, human rights, and legal compliance into question. 

In July 2024, Gap supplier The Wilbes in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti laid off approximately 900 workers. Among these workers were thirteen women, four pregnant women and nine union leaders – two groups who are protected and should not have been among the first to lose their jobs. You can read more about this case in our previous blog here.

The letter, which was sent to Gap CEO Richard Dickson on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, reads as follows:

On behalf of women’s rights, labor, and other human rights organizations, we write to express our deep concerns over the illegal termination of pregnant women and union leaders at Gap Inc.’s supplier Willbes, a factory in Haiti which produces Old Navy clothing.

In July 2024, Willbes fired four pregnant workers and nine leaders of the Sendika Ouvriye Tekstilak Abiman-Batay Ouvriye (SOTA-BO) union. The firings of the pregnant women are a violation of Haitian Labor Code Article 330, which prohibits the dismissal of pregnant employees without prior approval from the Ministry of Labor. The dismissals of the union leaders violate Haiti’s Constitution, Labor Code, and the International Labour Organization Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association which Haiti has ratified. 

Gap Inc. has not taken appropriate action, as required by its own Code of Vendor Conduct and by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to remedy these clear violations of women’s rights and union rights. According to a report by the Worker Rights Consortium, Gap Inc. has instead defended Willbes’s unlawful actions, refusing to require its supplier to take the necessary corrective action in accordance with Haitian law, Gap’s own supplier code of conduct, and consistent with international standards. 

While we are very disappointed by Gap Inc.’s inaction, it is not too late for Gap Inc. to correct its course. Will Gap Inc. require Willbes, as a condition of its ongoing business relationship, to offer these 13 workers reinstatement and pay them back wages, including maternity benefits owed under Haitian law to the four women who were pregnant at the time they were fired?

We request a public response from Gap Inc. 

Sincerely, 

Avanse Ansanm
Clean Clothes Campaign International Office
Coalition of Labor Union Women, AFL-CIO
Corporate Accountability Lab
Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project
Green America
Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility 
Jobs With Justice
Kay Fanm
Maquila Solidarity Network
Movement for Black Lives
Ms. Foundation for Women
National Organization For Women
NÈGÈS MAWON
No Sweat
Organisation Féministe MARIJÀN
Partners for Dignity & Rights
Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
Showing Up for Racial Justice
SOMO
Students for International Labor Solidarity
Trade Justice Education Fund
UNIR EN HAITÍ
United Women in Faith
WeCount!
Women’s March
WomenStrong International
Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network
Workers United-SEIU

You can download the letter here.