Clothing giant Gap and Russian oil major Gazprom were handed annual Public Eye shame awards by campaigners at the World Economic Forum on Thursday for what they said were lax factory safety standards and Arctic drilling, Agence France-Presse reported.
While Gap won the jury prize, Gazprom has been chosen by online voters for the public award, the Swiss chapter of Greenpeace and the Berne Declaration said at an "award ceremony" on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the global elite in Davos.
In the wake of a factory fire in Bangladesh that killed 1,127 people, Gap was mocked by activists for failing to sign up to a safety accord, AFP reported.
"International brands sourcing from Bangladesh such as Gap have failed to ensure that their suppliers comply with even the most basic safety standards mandated by local law," they said in a statement. "Moreover, garment workers work intolerably long hours for poverty wages."
A host of retailers agreed to hold independent building and fire safety inspections in Bangladesh and pay for factory repairs if necessary, according to AFP.
But Walmart and Gap sparked anger when they opted to stick to self-regulation and snubbed the accord.
While Gap emphasized that it has already launched its own safety drive, Walmart has pledged to inspect its 279 Bangladeshi suppliers and publish the results.
According to AFP, the other company under attack was Gazprom for its drilling for oil in the Arctic Barents Sea. The campaigners claimed the firm "has already violated several federal safety and environmental regulations."
A potential oil spill in the area would not make it easy for Gazprom to deal with, the campaigners said.
"Such a spill would lead to serious, long-term pollution of their fragile region," the activists said.
Thirty foreign and Russian activists were detained in September after protesting at Gazprom's drilling, before being bailed and then winning a Kremlin-backed amnesty, AFP reported.
Gazprom declined to comment while Gap was not immediately available for a response when contacted by AFP.
The groups have carried out the "naming and shaming awards" at the annual gathering of the world's political and business elite in the Swiss ski resort of Davos since 2000.
U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs and Anglo-Dutch energy firm Shell were last year's winners of the dubious honor, AFP reported.
British bank Barclays and Walt Disney have also been previous targets.
"We have to make sure that our economic model is in line with our values systems and prevent it being dictated by the market. The Public Eye Awards remind us of our lost morality," Czech economist Tomas Sedlacek told reporters at the awards.
