High street clothing chain Gap has vowed to stop thousands of items reaching its shelves because child labour may have been used to make them, it was reported today.
Children as young as 10 were found by The Observer newspaper making clothes which were destined to go on sale at the firm's shops in Europe and the US in time for Christmas.
The youngsters told reporters they had been sold to factory bosses by their families and were not allowed to leave until they had repaid that fee.
But the children said they were not being paid because they were told they were being trained, even after several months.
One boy told The Observer the children were beaten if they were not thought to be working hard enough.
A spokesman for Gap told the newspaper: "At Gap, we firmly believe that under no circumstances is it acceptable for children to produce or work on garments."
The spokesman added that Gap monitors factories which make its garments and last year revoked approval for 23 factories which failed to comply with its standards.
Gap's website features a copy of its Code of Vendor Conduct regarding child labour which states that factories should employ only workers who meet the applicable minimum legal age requirement or are at least 14 years of age, whichever is greater.
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