Wednesday 18 April 2018
Intro image: Smiling graduates of a Ready Made Garment Course, as part of a program that works towards reforming technical and vocational education and training in Bangladesh.
Five years on from the Rana Plaza Factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed over 1100 workers, an industry-leading ethical fashion report shows many brands are still not doing enough to protect workers in their international supply chains. Tearfund’s Ethical Fashion Guide Aotearoa New Zealand, released today, graded 114 companies representing 407 brands from A – F based on the levels of visibility and transparency across their supply chain, with regards to worker rights, policies and practices. It’s the second year Tearfund has produced the Guide in New Zealand, working alongside Baptist World Aid Australia to incorporate more Kiwi companies in the Report. Eighteen New Zealand companies are included in this year’s Report, representing 43 brands. Six of these are companies that have been assessed for the first time, including Barkers, Ruby, Postie and Trelise Cooper*.
Above: Trelise Cooper on Threadnz.com photographed by Anupam.
See the full 99 page pdf The 2018 Ethical Fashion Report (Tearfund & Baptist World Aid) (2)
NEW ZEALAND BRANDS
Ethical Fashion report 2018 ranks New Zealand fashion brands on attempts to address worker exploitation. Brands with asterisks chose not to engage in the research. 3 of the top 5 of 114 global companies were Kiwi companies; Common Good (2nd), Icebreaker (3rd), and Freeset (4th).
Above: Icebreaker fashion event in Auckland, photos Megan Robinson on Threadnz.com
Above: models in Kowtow, photo by Megan Robinson on Threadnz.com
Key findings of the 2018 Report include:
Three of the top five companies in the Report were Kiwi companies.
Common Good (formerly Liminal Apparel), Icebreaker and Freeset were the top New Zealand performers, all scoring the top grade of A+.
Kathmandu and Kowtow were also high achievers in the A range.
The lowest graded New Zealand brands were K&K*, T&T* and Trelise Cooper*, all of which did not participate in the research.
Icebreaker was most improved, scoring an A+ up from a D- last year, after making information about its fibres and supply chain publicly available.
New Zealand companies scored a median grade of B-, unchanged from 2017. The international average is C+. Companies are assessed at three critical stages of the supply chain – raw materials, inputs production and final stage production. These are grouped into four themes: policies, traceability and transparency, auditing and supplier relationships and worker empowerment.
Above: Workers at Ando International, a Vietnamese garment firm.
GLOBAL COMPANIES GRADED
BRANDS RANKED IN ORDER HIGH TO LOW
Tearfund CEO, Ian McInnes, said he hopes Kiwi consumers will take the power they have seriously to impact the wellbeing of garment factory workers around the world by making ethical choices here at home. Over 13,000 Kiwis already do so having downloaded last year’s Guide from Tearfund.org.nz. “Too often we see the end product. We don’t see the exploitation of millions of garment factory workers who endure 12 to 14 hour days without breaks just to make the clothes we wear. The Ethical Fashion Guide asks companies to report on their labour rights management practices and gives Kiwi consumers the power to choose.”
A demand for transparency Since Rana Plaza, consumers, governments and civil society have been demanding a greater level of transparency from fashion companies about what they are doing to ensure their workers are protected. One important element of transparency is publishing details of suppliers. When companies publish in this way, it proves they know where their clothes are being made and are open to being held accountable for what’s happening in their supply chains. More companies than ever before have published such lists. In 2013, only one-sixth of the 42 companies assessed had published supply chains, and now approximately one-third of the 114 companies have followed suit. However, nearly two-thirds of New Zealand companies assessed in the 2018 Report are yet to publish any details of their suppliers.
Only two per cent of all assessed brands have fully traced and published their supplier list. One of these is a Kiwi company (Common Good).
Seven New Zealand companies included in the 2018 Report published either full or partial lists of suppliers over the past 12 months. These include Common Good, Icebreaker, Barkers, Freeset, Kathmandu, The Warehouse Group* and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, who represent popular mainstream brands Glassons and Hallensteins.
Tearfund’s Ethical Fashion Project Manager Claire Hart, who has been working on the Report, says she looks forward to working alongside more New Zealand companies with the goal of publishing supplier lists ahead of next year’s Report.
“Supply chains in the fashion industry can be lengthy and complicated. One item of clothing could have passed through multiple factories or even countries before the final product is on the shelf for the consumer. It’s really commendable when companies are making a concerted effort to trace their suppliers through each stage of production and are able to let the consumer know who is making their clothes, and under what conditions they are being made in.”
“New Zealand has made great progress in the last year with seven companies publishing supplier lists, up from zero companies in 2017. However, many are yet to do this and stay on track with progress being made by the industry on a global scale. I’m hopeful Kiwi companies will take steps to rise to a new standard of transparency with consumers in the future.”
Living wages a major concern. Of the 114 companies assessed in the Report:
Only 12 have developed or are using a living wage methodology and have calculated a living wage for each region they operate in. Three of these are New Zealand companies.
Two New Zealand companies are included in the total of six companies paying a living wage to the workers in final stage and inputs production facilities.
No company is paying a living wage all the way down the supply chain. New Zealand’s Kowtow, Icebreaker, Freeset and Common Good scored in the A range for worker empowerment, which takes living wages into consideration.
Hart congratulated the New Zealand companies who scored highly in this area and encouraged other companies to follow suit.
“We’re pleased to see some New Zealand companies becoming more aware of worker empowerment and intentionally considering how much their workers are being paid. It’s a step in the right direction, but from this year’s results, it is evident we still have a long way to go before we will see a major shift in the industry take place.
“The Ethical Fashion Guide is a practical tool Kiwis can use to help encourage companies to reduce worker exploitation and pay fair wages.”
The Ethical Fashion Guide is based on the Ethical Fashion Report produced by Baptist World Aid Australia, which partners with Tearfund New Zealand to release the guide and work with companies to improve ethical practices in their supply chains.
To download a copy of the Guide or Report, visit Tearfund.org.nz/ethicalfashion.
The 2018 Ethical Fashion Report Aotearoa New Zealand is the culmination of 10 months of research by Tearfund NZ and Baptist World Aid Australia. The first Report was published in 2013. Tearfund NZ partners with Baptist World Aid to include more New Zealand companies in the report, publish a New Zealand version of the Guide, and work with New Zealand companies to improve their supply chain management. The Report refers to companies as opposed to brands, as often companies own a number of brands. Each brand is assessed individually and the parent company is given a grade based on the average.
For simplicity’s sake, we refer to the companies in the Report as opposed to the brands. In the Guide, however, which is the consumer-facing tool, we refer to the brands, as these are more recognisable for consumers.
The 2018 Report assessed 114 fashion companies and 407 brands. Companies are graded from A – F based on how well they protect the people making their clothes from exploitation at each stage of production – raw materials, input materials and final production.
Companies are assessed on four key areas:
1. Policies – Having policies in place to address the risks of worker exploitation
2. Traceability and transparency – Tracing and disclosing information about suppliers throughout their entire supply chains
3. Auditing and supplier relationships – Ensuring working conditions meet the standards set out in their policies by conducting regular labour rights audits
4. Worker empowerment – Empowering workers to have their voices heard through trade unions, collective bargaining agreements and grievance mechanisms
Comment on non-responsive companies
Companies which are non-responsive are indicated in this Report by an asterisk next to their name. They were also given the opportunity to provide a short statement for the Report as to why they chose not to respond. Tearfund acknowledges that non-responsive brands may be doing more to improve their ethical sourcing than we could assess them on. However, if brands do not disclose, or are unwilling to disclose what they are doing to ensure workers are not exploited in their supply chains, then it becomes near impossible for consumers to know if these brands are investing sufficiently to mitigate these risks.
About Tearfund’s ‘Protect’ cause
Tearfund’s Protect cause combats human trafficking and exploitation through five partners in five countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Fiji, working across the spectrum in prevention, prosecution, protection, policy and partnerships. When it comes specifically to labour exploitation:
Our partner in Nepal provides a safe migration programme as well as livelihood support, education and counselling to those vulnerable to exploitation.
Our partner in Cambodia hosts sessions on trafficking awareness, employment rights and responsibilities, and provides legal support, safe housing and trauma counselling to victims and survivors.
Our partner in Sri Lanka sets up youth clubs to raise awareness of child rights and how to respond to labour exploitation and provides trauma counselling, education support and career guidance.
About Tearfund We are Tearfund, a New Zealand Christian aid and development organisation. Our faith is visible. It acts, it speaks, and it stands alongside those in need. Together with our partners on the ground and our supporters at home, we sponsor children, we restore, nourish and empower communities in need, and we protect the vulnerable from exploitation. We act and advocate against injustice and poverty overseas and call on New Zealanders to do the same. Assistance and care are always provided without bias or prejudice in terms of race, religion, caste, class, political beliefs or gender. And we’ve been doing it for more than forty years. tearfund.org.nz
Above: models in Kowtow, photo by Megan Robinson on Threadnz.com
18th April 2018