Global fashion brands show “shamefully” low levels of transparency

London – Global fashion brands must do more on transparency, Fashion Revolution
has warned as its launches its inaugural Fashion Transparency Index to mark
the start of Fashion Revolution Week, which runs from April 18-24.

The report comes ahead of the three-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza
garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,134 people on April
24, and shows that 40 percent of the companies surveyed do not have a
system in place to monitor compliance with labour standards, while only 11
companies show evidence of working with trade unions, civil society or NGOs
on the ground in supplier countries to improve working conditions.

Fashion Revolution in partnership with Ethical Consumer has ranked 40 of
the biggest global fashion brands according to the level of transparency in
their supply chain, which they say the more transparency they have equals
greater consumer and regulatory accountability in the supply chain.

A photo posted by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 15, 2016 at 7:47am PDT

The average score for the 40 brands surveyed was 42 percent, with Levi
Strauss and Co coming top with 77 percent, while French fashion house
Chanel came bottom with just 10 percent, closely followed by Forever 21,
Claire’s Accessories, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Prada, with Fashion
Revolution stating that luxury brands, in particular, have “much more work
to do”.

Fashion Revolution co-founder Carry Somers, said: “Lack of transparency
costs lives. It is impossible for companies to make sure human rights are
respected and that environmental practices are sound without knowing where
their products are made, who is making them and under what conditions. When
companies are working in a transparent way, this also implies openness,
communication, and accountability across the supply chain and with the
public.”

Fashion Revolution publishes inaugural Fashion Transparency Index

Along with Levi’s, Swedish fashion chain H&M and the Inditex group that
includes Zara, Bershka and Pull and Bear both were at the top of the
ranking with 76 percent, with high marks across the five categories –
policy and commitment, tracking and traceability, social and environmental
audits, engagement and collaboration, and governance.

The report notes that Inditex was the only fashion company to score a
perfect 100 percent in any category, for governance. However, it adds that
all three companies scored well as they are doing more than most other
brands to communicate publicly about their supply chain practices and that
they seem to have many robust systems in place for tracking, tracing,
monitoring and improving labour and environmental practices across the
supply chain.

We believe transparency is the first step to transform the fashion industry. And it starts with one simple question: #whomademyclothes? Download our white paper and find out why we need a Fashion Revolution: www.fashionrevolution.org/transparency ——————– We’ll be at the Houses of Parliament, UK at 1.30pm discussing the steps needed to create revolutionary change in the fashion industry. Follow the conversation on twitter with #FQT

A photo posted by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 18, 2016 at 1:06am PDT

Other key findings from the report included that only five of the
companies – Adidas, H&M, Levi Strauss and Co and Nike, which includes
Converse, publish a list of all or the vast majority of their Cut-Make-Trim
suppliers, while only two – Adidas and H&M publish details of their
second-tier suppliers such as fabric and yarn mills and/or subcontractors.

Additionally, half of the companies surveyed appear to have nothing in
place to monitor where raw materials come from, or at least do no share
this information publicly, and 20 percent of companies do not disclose how
they work with non-compliant factories in order to improve conditions. The
report notes that Levi Strauss publishes the most information about their
corrective action plans.

The report does congratulate a number of fashion brands including Levi
Strauss and Co, H&M, Inditex, Adidas and Primark , which they state are the
“most transparent global fashion companies”, compared to the rest of the
brands surveyed.

A photo posted by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 16, 2016 at 12:40am PDT

Somers, added: “The public do not have enough information about where
and how their clothes are made. Shoppers have the right to know that their
money is not supporting exploitation, human rights abuses, and environment
destruction. It was recently reported that Islamic State has taken over
three-quarters of the cotton fields in Syria.

“How do we as consumers know that we aren’t supporting ISIS or slave
labour with the next cotton garment we buy? There is no way to hold
companies and governments to account if we can’t see what is truly
happening behind the scenes. This is why transparency is so essential.”

The 40 fashion brands were selected based on annual turnover and were
assessed both via a questionnaire and by information they made publicly
available.

Ethical Consumer Research Associate lead researcher Bryony Moore,
commented: “The results show that while some companies are making
reasonable efforts to make their supply chains more transparent, there are
a large number of companies who fall far short and are still seemingly
operating with little knowledge and control of their supply chain. Some
companies have nothing more than a Code of Conduct.”

A photo posted by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 18, 2016 at 6:08am PDT

The seven fashion companies at the bottom of the index, Chanel, Hermes,
Claire’s Accessories, Forever 21, Fendi, LVMH, and Monsoon Accessorize all
scored badly across all areas as the report stated that they had no
information about their supply chain practices available to the public and
added that many of these companies seem to do little more than have a Code
of Conduct in place. In addition, each one didn’t respond to the
questionnaire.

Fashion Revolution is hoping that the index will encourage the public to
contact their favourite brands to encourage them to publish more about
their policies, practices, products and the people making their clothes, as
well as answer the important question #whomademyclothes through a social
media campaign.

Fashion Revolution Week takes place from April 18 to 24 in 89 countries
worldwide. Events in the UK includes a fashion question time hosted and
chaired by MP Mary Creagh, the launch of ‘The Upcycle Project’, which will
bring together the next generation of fashion designers in a 2 day
upcycling workshop, with a private view and auction, the Flux: Fair Luxury
Conference and three Fashion Revolution events as part of Utopia at
Somerset House.

Image: Fashion Revolution