New York Times, 1 May 2001

To Combat Sweatshops

To the Editor:

Re "Labor Standards Clash With Global Reality" (front page, April 24):

As you note, concern about global working conditions is growing on college campuses and more broadly elsewhere. Multinational companies that fail to respond to this evolving concern do so at their peril.

While no one company can change the system, by acting collectively, such companies can compel real change. One such effort is the Fair Labor Association, on whose board I serve. It is a collective effort by major apparel companies, human rights, consumer and religious groups, and more than 150 universities to monitor factory conditions and remedy violations where they are found. To date, Gap Inc. has declined to participate in this collective effort. It is time for it to do so.

MICHAEL POSNER

Executive Director, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights

New York, April 26, 2001