Global clothier Gap Inc this week became the latest apparel retailer to identify the factories which produce its garments, helping shed light on how the world's clothing is made. But other brands now identifying factories include H&M, Nike, Levis and Adidas. Gap Inc revealed the names and street addresses of suppliers in countries such as China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Cambodia, Guatemala, India and Indonesia. 

Human Rights Watch, a human rights agency, welcomed Gap's disclosures as a boon to transparency in the apparel industry.Activists have targeted the highly profitable "fast-fashion" industry, which churns out new low-cost garments daily or weekly to maximize sales volumes, calling on retailers to improve labour and environmental conditions at supplier factories in the impoverished developing world.

Gap markets its apparel under brands including Old Navy, Athleta, and Banana Republic as well as The Gap in more than 3,700 stores around the world.