I interrupt this broadcast of iwilldare.com to bring you what started out as the planning of my mom?s 50th birthday party (her birthday is tomorrow) into an all out spamfest between the sisters and I:
Sister #1 (that?s me): Were you two always this dorky or is this a new development?
By the way, I made my very first trip to Old Navy last night. I was a bit disappointed. It wasn?t everything I had hoped it would be.
Sister #2: that is just rude. how can you possibly be disappointed with old navy? the store rules with the exception of the Eagan store. That one sucks. But all the others are great. The clothes are cool and cheap how can you go wrong.
Sister #1: I guess I just expected more. You guys talked it up so much I thought it would be amazing and wonderful. It wasn?t.
Sister #2: no, i think you are just mad because they don’t sell books. old navy is everything we said and more!!!!!! see, it doesn’t help that you didn’t like the mall of america either. see you aren?t quite the shopper we had all hoped you were. i’m very disappointed in you. i thought we raised you better than that. but i was wrong.
Sister #1: I can shop with the best of them! I just need my stores to have some substance!
Sister #2: SUBSTANCE!!!! OLD NAVY HAS EVERYTHING!!! CLOTHES, TOYS, SHOES, KNICK KNACKS, SOAP, PERSONAL ITEMS, JOURNALS, ADDRESS BOOKS AND YES, EVEN STUFF FOR PETS!!! WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR?????????????
Sister #4: Old Navy rules. I am rather upset. I go to my meeting to come back to Old Navy stinks, how does that make me feel. Pretty bad, I love Old Navy. Yes, Ericka [sister #2] you are always right, but not about the cheese thing. I am so right about that, so right. Nothing else.
Sister#1: How did I manage to be the only one with good taste?
Sister #4: How did you manage to be the only one without taste is my question.
Yeah, there is a big cheese debate raging in the sister camp. I would go into it, but it?s pretty brutal.
I wish I had a big bunch of sisters too. It sounds like fun. I only have one and she and I are on shaky ground right now. Plus she never uses e-mail.
oldnavy is dumb and they play dumb house music.
Old Navy sucks not because of their clothes or prices but because of the fact that they use SWEATSHOP LABOR.
Gap Inc., which owns Old Navy, The Gap and Banana Republic is pure evil. Stay away.
Which companies *don’t* use sweatshop labor? I’m not being sarcastic, I really want to know. I never know who’s evil and who’s not.
I didn’t know that about Old Navy. And I admit it, hate me if you will, but my absolute most favorite pair of jeans EVER came from Old Navy.
I think there needs to be a big sister free-for-all wrestling match, to determine true dominance. And I demand that it be on pay-per-view.
i don’t eat fast food anymore. that’s my contribution to the down with the man social consciousness hoowah.
because these sweatshop-produced banana republic pants make my ass look sexxxy. and, thanks in part to the aforementioned raising of social consciousness, my ass actually fits in them. that’s extra value!
damn I think every bit of clothes I own came from a Gap Inc. store. I guess this makes me the right hand man to satan. or something.
my sister is quitting smoking. she hasn’t had a cigarette in four weeks. i’m sure she’d whup my ass good if I crossed her right now.
I used to work at Old Navy and it was our internal joke that all Gap Inc used was 3rd world country labor. We used to make a game out of it, when shipment would come in, to see how many different countries (all 3rd world) we could find on the different articles. By far the most used country was Mexico, and most if not all of Old Navy’s Jeans and T-shirts are made there.
Old navy/gap/Banana also suck because last i checked they were owned by Maxim corp. This big company is evil as far as logging old growth trees goes, they have singlehandedly killed entire rivers by clearcutting watersheds (a big no-no)
read up on it…
take care,
Jester
I work at Old Navy and yes it sucks royally. If they didn’t work around my school schedule so well, there is no way i’d be there. Not only do they use third world labor…they are racist.
First of all Old Navy, Gap, etc are not owned by Maxim Corp. Maxim Corp. is a separate entity owned by one of the founders of Gap, who owns 1/3 of Gap Inc. Gap Inc. Itself actually uses enviroment friendly wood to build their stores, so instead of boycotting Gap ask them to dump Fisher(Maxim corp. owner) He’s too old to know anything about clothes anyway!
As for sweat-shop labor there are currently no clothing companies that do not use sweatshop labor. Sadly, even clothes labeled Made in Usa can be made in sweatshop like environments. Some of this clothing is not even completely made in USA. Loopholes allow the label to be used if part of a garment is made in USA. The only way to change these sad conditions is to regulate apparel production rather than boycoot certain stores since all stores use swaetshops. The only exceptions are extremely expensive designer hand-made stuff that the average person couldn’t afford.
I know all this stuff because I A)Work at the Gap and B) Am studying to design clothing.
OK Tara… So its OK to contribute to the deforestation because Maxim Corp/Fisher only owns a third of Gap Inc?? Thats goddamn rediculous. 1/3 is a HUGE portion of the company. Hell, its basically an entire store of the franchise.
If he owns 1/3 of the stock, they can’t really “dump him” he needs to sell his share. So rather than petitioning him to sell it, which he won’t, boycott them until it’s no longer profitable enough for him to keep his shares. Much better idea, and it doesn’t continue to line to the pockets of the morally corrupt.
I hate all Gap Inc. stores. The company is run by idiots and they treat their customers terribly.
TO OTHER OLD NAVY EMPLOYEES………I work at old navy right now, theres a song on the after hours cd that myself, and my other co workers like, but we lost the cd list….its a raggae hip hop song, it sounds like shaggy, but I don’t think it is, its not “hey lady”, its something else, anyone know it…please help us out!!! Ezambon23@hotmail.com
I have been reviewing various companies to start investing for my child’s education. I am very concerned that my child not only have the opportunity to attend university someday – but also that she can look forward to hiking in healthy forests and drinking clean water. I also don’t want my child’s future happiness to be at the cost of other children’s misery in sweatshops. Calvert is a company that reviews and lobbies companies to be more environmentally and socially concious, and also provide ethical investment funds. Gap Inc is one of the companies that I researched through their site. Here is what I read. For more info, and to review other companies that you may do business with, search for Calvert Social Index online.
GAP INC (GPS)
San Francisco, CA
Economic sector: Consumer Discretionary
Summary:
Gap Inc., an international specialty retailer, sells clothing and accessories for men, women, and children through its Gap, GapKids, babyGap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy outlet and online stores. The company operates nearly 4,200 stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. Revenue in fiscal 2001 was $14 billion; the company had 165,000 employees as of February 2, 2002. In 2001, about 9 percent of the company?s merchandise (in number of units) was manufactured in the United States, with the rest produced internationally. The company has taken affirmative steps to address labor and human rights standards, relative to its industry. While this progress is creditable, the company needs to do more to ensure that its products are not manufactured under substandard conditions and to improve disclosure and transparency of its supplier standards program. Calvert is dialoguing with management and closely monitoring the company?s progress in this area. Gap Inc. faces criticism for overseas labor and human rights conditions, which are not uncommon in the U.S. apparel industry. Reports about sweatshop-like conditions cause great concern among the public and social shareholders. Gap Inc. has developed a Code of Vendor Conduct, as well as a monitoring program to ensure that its suppliers are complying with its code. Over 90 employees from almost 25 nationalities work in Gap?s Global Compliance Team, dedicated exclusively to monitoring and improving compliance with Gap?s vendor standards. Gap Inc. was the first U.S. apparel company to develop an independent monitoring program by agreeing to let representatives of local nongovernmental groups monitor its supplier factories in El Salvador. The company states that it is expanding independent monitoring in Central America. Gap Inc. continues to face public criticism for the labor and human rights conditions at its vendor facilities around the world that supply its products, such as in Guatemala, Lesotho, Cambodia, and Saipan. As of December 2002, Gap Inc. agreed to join other companies to settle two major lawsuits filed in January 1999 on behalf of thousands of Asian workers in Saipan. This settlement creates a fund to pay back wages to workers and create a supplier monitoring system to prevent further abuses. The company has decided not to do business with factories in certain countries that have egregious human rights problems, such as Burma. The company has a number of positive environmental practices, including a unique, environmentally efficient designed building at its headquarters. Programs include recycling initiatives for stores, use of wood from certified-sustainable forests for the flooring at its stores, and energy efficiency in lighting. Environmental considerations are also addressed in store design and construction. Gap Inc. does not conduct or endorse animal testing. Gap Inc. offers paid volunteer time for headquarters employees, and provides full medical and dental benefits for domestic partners, as well as a number of family-oriented benefits. Women hold a significant number of management positions throughout the company, and three women are on the company?s Board of Directors. Among programs Gap Inc. supports are those focusing on helping underserved youth, with an emphasis on academic achievement; health and human services, including HIV/AIDS prevention and education; community; environment; and the arts.
I would NEVER shop there. Style wise, yuck. It’s too Landsend for me (’nuff said). And with everyone else shopping there you end up looking like a clone. Too bland and indistinct.
Tell you what – You all need to find something else to occupy your time other than crapping on stores like Old Navy. If you’re SO concerned about the environment and labor conditions in other countries, why don’t you tear yourself away from your computers for awhile, get off your hippie asses and do something about it? You know why? Because you can talk and talk and talk and say how TERRIBLE everyone else is, and how you’re for these causes, but in reality, you’re just like the people you claim to despise. And if you don’t like the clothes that Old Navy offers, or you HATE working there enough to advertise it to the world, open your own damn store and make your own goddamn clothes. But just make sure you don’t get really popular, because you’ll be the next company that has to use people in third world countries to help you make all the shit you sell, you tree-hugging hippie bastards.
p.s. You’d better take a look at the clothes you’re wearing right now – chances are they’re made in the same conditions as any that come from Old Navy. I hope they are – and that you have to start walking around naked because you don’t support what clothing companies are doing. While you’re at it, I hope you starve because you just can’t eat ANYTHING that was once a living animal. Ooh, and at the same time deal with an unwanted pregnancy that you can’t do anything about, all while patting yourself on the back for having such strong convictions and making this world SUCH a better place just by being alive.
Oh, and if you’re going to post something on the Internet for everyone to see, learn how to spell. Come on people, at least try to mask your ignorance a little bit.
I also used to work at Old Navy, and the reason I write is simply because there’s a song that is stuck in my head from there summer in store CD. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s kind of jazzy and fast, and the chorus is ” ’cause all I do is think about you.. all I do… is think about you.” I have already tried every combination of those 7 words to find it. It was on the same CD as Overjoyed I think. PLEASE HELP!!!!
Thank you Estriata for the information about Calvert – that is very helpful because I try to shop more at socially conscious companies.
I think that old navy is an alright store, but I dont shop there, I had the chance to buy my boyfriend these hott pants from there and a zip up hoodie, but instead i got him something more from heart….why would you even bother to shop at Old Navy, Levi Strause, GAP, and Nike. Poor little hopeless families are getting paid maybe at the bare maximum of $9 a week, so we can have cool and hip clothing, think again, what if that was your child and your family in that third world country? would want them to have to sit there day in and day out making all these hella nice clothing and get a measly $9 a week?? I dont think so. So the next time you want to go get some cute jeans that make your ass look hott or that shirt that actually makes you look like you have nice boobs, think of the poor hopeless families that slaved to make those clothes for you and what they get paid to make them. We need to put a stop to sweatshops….