Gildan Earns 12th FUNDAHRSE Seal for Initiatives in Honduras

MONTREAL-Gildan Activewear earns its 12th Corporate Social Responsibility Seal from the Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility in Honduras (FUNDAHRSE). The foundation recognized the company for its large-scale initiatives in the country.

“We work to be a positive contributor to both the people and the communities in the regions where we have operations, and it is a source of pride to have these efforts recognized,” says Claudia Sandoval, vice president, corporate citizenship at Gildan. “Our operations in Honduras and all over the world are aligned with the standards of both local and international organizations such as the ILO, FLA, and WRAP.”

Sandoval adds that the company strives to offer its more than 26,000 employees in Honduras “the best working conditions, invest in innovations to minimize our use of natural resources and work closely with our neighboring communities to ensure our investments address their most pressing needs.”

Projects from the past year include:

• An onsite supermarket opened for Gildan employees that provides non-perishable foods and other essentials at discounted prices for more than 8,500 staff at the company’s Honduras manufacturing hub. The company says it uses local suppliers to stock the shop, which in turn creates “further economic benefits for the community as well as reducing transportation costs and associated environmental impacts.”
• Financing a park refurbishment in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The company provided a donation of $570,000 for renovations at the park, which is the largest in the city and second-largest in the country.
• Donations of medical equipment to Leonardo Martínez Hospital. The equipment, valued at more than $520,000, is for the surgery ward at the hospital that provides free services to patients in Northern Honduras. Gildan projects the new surgical module to provide more than 8,000 surgeries annually.
• Gildan also points to its continued commitment of energy usage reduction through emissions reviews, biomass use, and heat recovery systems. The company says renewable energy represents 40% of the company’s energy use in 2018.

For more information, visit www.gildancorp.com.