Montreal ? Gildan Activewear says it is currently obtaining information in order to fully evaluate the impact of the Haiti earthquake on the operations and employees of its sub-contractors in the country.

Gildan has no vertically-integrated manufacturing facilities in Haiti, but uses third party contractors to sew the majority of the fabric produced at its Dominican Republic textile facility. Initial indications are that two out of the three contractor facilities used by Gildan are intact, while the third and smallest contractor facility has suffered substantial damage. The company?s textile and sewing facilities in the Dominican Republic have not been affected by the earthquake.

Gildan?s Dominican Republic / Haiti manufacturing hub is currently dedicated to supplying a portion of the company?s basic T-shirt requirements for the US screenprint market.

The company says it is in a strong inventory position and is immediately implementing contingency plans to minimize likely short-term disruption of contractor production in Haiti by increasing production at its integrated sewing facilities in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Most importantly, Gildan?s management said it wished to express its concern for the well-being of the people of Haiti.