Transparency in Fashion Brands Still an Issue
Transparency in Fashion Brands Still an Issue
Last year the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) asked over 70 brands to sign a transparency agreement, which would allow consumers to see where exactly their clothing was made, from start to finish.
Just last week, CCC released a report detailing the responses they received from those 70 brands, and attempting to showcase the importance of transparency in the fashion industry. The campaign aims to use this pledge to identify and prevent “actual or potential adverse human rights impacts,” including issues of safety or mistreatment of workers in the garment industry.
By agreeing to uphold the pledge, brands agree to post on their website, on a regular basis: the name and address of the production units and processing facilities; the parent company of the business at each site; the type of products made, and the number of workers at each site, in English, and in a searchable format. The companies who have, so far, agreed to disclose all the information asked for by the transparency agreement are: ASOS, ASICS, Clarks, New Look, Next, and the Pentland brands.
Brands including Adidas, C&A, Cotton On, Esprit, G-Star, RAW, Hanesbrands, H&M, Levis, Lindex, Nike, and Patagonia already published supplier information prior to the official request that they do so, and have committed to providing further information to meet the full standards. Several companies come close to meeting these standards, including Gap, and Marks and Spencer, while many others have agreed to or already meet portions of these standards.
The report, available here, details the standards the companies approached held themselves prior, and the standards they hold themselves to now, whether by agreement or a change in internal policy. The report further explains the benefits of transparency, and the fallacies behind the excuses used to avoid further transparency — including competitive advantage — citing the success of brands who have maintained these standards for several years already.
Transparency in Fashion Brands Still an Issue
