progress was once again made this year with respect to emissions, water usage and treatment, employee compensation and productivity, as well as investment in local communities.

As a first step in the development of a new hub to service the European and Asian markets, midway through the year we acquired an integrated textile/sewing facility near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since the acquisition, we have been improving working conditions and compensation for our approximately 2,000 employees, initiating training, generating productivity gains, and improving environmental performance. We are confident that, in spite of the challenges we will surely face, we will succeed in developing a facility that meets our high expectations and those of our customers and other stakeholders while providing employment in this region.

The year 2010 was also marked by the devastating earthquake in Haiti that destroyed one of our sewing contractors’ facility and took the lives of 67 of its employees. We immediately launched a relief and reconstruction effort that provided food, shelter, medicine, and funding for reconstruction. Gildan and our employees contributed approximately $570,000 to support our contractors and employees in their efforts to deal with this tragic situation. Thanks to the determination of our Haitian colleagues, the facilities have returned to normal operation and employees have begun to rebuild their lives.