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Article

6 Jun 2017

Author:
Rebecca Ley, Ethical Corporation

#whomademyclothes: Transparency poor in garment supply chain, study finds

"#whomademyclothes: Transparency poor in garment supply chain, study finds"

...the Fashion Transparency Index 2017, which scores 100 of the biggest global fashion companies on the information they publish on their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts, found that even the best-performing brands have a long way to go. The average score was 49 out of 250, less than 20% of the total possible points, and even the top-ranking companies failed to score above 50%.

Highest scoring Adidas and Reebok achieved 121.5 out of 250, followed by Marks & Spencer with 120 points and H&M with 119.5 points. Only four other brands – Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, and Puma – scored higher than 40%, while a third, the largest group, scored below 10%: These included luxury brands Ralph Lauren, Georgio Armani and Christian Dior, and high street brands such as Forever 21, Claire’s Accessories, Anthropologie and Monsoon. Heilan Home and s.Oliver scored zero because they disclose nothing at all...

Few brands on the list disclose efforts on living wages, collective bargaining, and reducing consumption of resources...

Despite 14 brands publishing their processing facilities where their clothes are dyed, laundered, printed or treated, no brand is publishing its raw material suppliers.

The index, funded by C&A Foundation, reveals that only 31 brands are publishing tier 1 supplier lists, including Asos, Benetton, C&A, Esprit, Gap, Marks & Spencer, Uniqlo, and VF Corporation. Jill Tucker, head of supply chain innovation and transformation for C&A Foundation, said: “The problem is that the information is held by a few actors. Tens of thousands of factory audits are carried out every year, yet with few exceptions, results remain inaccessible to people other than factory management and the buyer involved.”...