The Fashion Transparency Index has rated 200 of the world’s biggest brands based on their public disclosure of policy and commitments, governance, supply-chain traceability, supplier assessment and remediation, and new ‘spotlight issues’ covering gender equality, decent work, climate action and responsible consumption and production.
The Index, reported in 2017 for the first time with the view to make the fashion industry transparent and aware of the ethical practices along with the “Who made my clothes?” movement is growing by an addition of 50 new brands to the assessment list every year ever since and hopes to do the same for 2020.
In the retail segment, Adidas, Reebok and H&M are among the brands leading the way when it comes to transparency in their supply chain with the highest score of 61-70% range. Well-known brands in the 51-60% range included Asos, Marks & Spencer and Gap.
Gucci and Bottega Veneta, owned by the Kering group were the highest-scoring luxury brands in the report, both coming in the 31-40% overall range, although they achieved 100% in the policy-and-commitments and governance areas of analysis.
The biggest improvers since last year are Dior, which is up 22%, Sainsbury’s and Nike, at 21%, New Balance, at 18% and Marc Jacobs, at 17%.
At the lower end of the spectrum, the 0-10% range features 72 out of the 250 brands, the most densely populated range by far. Within this, the report identified the five brands that scored 0% this year (down from nine in 2018) as Elie Tahari, Jessica Simpson, Mexx, Tom Ford and the Chinese menswear brand Youngor.
