Latest Fashion Report Helps Kiwis To Buy Ethical Brands

Baptist World Aid’s latest fashion report helps kiwis to buy brands that don’t use forced labour, child labour, or exploitation says Tearfund New Zealand.

Baptist World Aid Australia released its 2016 Fashion Report today, which ranks global and domestic fashion brands on the ethical production of their clothing lines.

The fashion report grades over 300 major brands A to F on the strength of the systems they have in place to mitigate the risk of forced labour, child labour and exploitation in their global supply chains.

The report revealed that some of the most well-known apparel brands were some of the worst performers, with Seed Heritage, Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21 and General Pants all scoring a D or F grade.

Best performers included Zara, Cotton On, Country Road and Bonds.

The research also found that two thirds of companies were not taking any action to ensure that workers received a living wage to meet their basic needs, leaving them trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Tearfund Education and Advocacy manager Murray Sheard says the guide is a powerful tool kiwis can use to change the way companies do business.

“They say knowledge is power and the insights found in the report give New Zealanders shoppers the power to put pressure on clothing suppliers to make sure workers in the factories they use are treated better. We hope kiwis use this guide to vote with their wallets and help transform the practices of fashion companies”.

Baptist World Aid Advocacy Manage, Gershon Nimbalker, says even since the 2015 report was released last year, some global brands had made changes to improve their ethical rankings.

“The grades tell us that consumers cannot be confident that these brands know who is making their clothes and the conditions their clothes are being made in.

We know that labour costs represent just a fraction of the price tag – there is some research that suggests that an additional 40 US cents more could ensure Bangladeshi garment workers are able to receive a living wage.”

According to Mr Nimbalker, Fairtrade brands Etiko and Audrey Blue pay a living wage to all workers in the final production stage, while popular brands like H&M, Kmart Australia and Pacific Brands (Bonds) have all made commendable steps in ensuring their suppliers are paid enough to live on.

“These companies show that it is possible to pay higher wages and operate profitably. Paying workers, a living wage would be relatively painless for consumers and companies, yet it would transform the lives of millions of workers around the world.”

On a positive note, the report highlights a significant increase in companies who knew their suppliers at the final manufacturing stage, 77%, up from 61% a year before.

Industrie and APG & Co (Saba, Sportscraft, JAG and Willow) showed significant improvement in tracing deeper, demonstrating that they had traced deeper into their supply chain, back to their fabric mills.

Individuals can download the 2016 Australian Fashion report and order the Ethical Fashion Guide at www.behindthebarcode.org.au.

ENDS

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