World not totally NZ-made
A retail expert says fashion brand World has been hurt by claims that it has misled consumers about where its clothes are made.
World, the first fashion brand to be endorsed by UN, has been vocal about the importance of making its clothes in New Zealand and not supporting brands that made their clothes in sweatshops overseas.
The company is owned by Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet and Francis Hooper.
But a Spinoff investigation found that materials of World’s clothing were sourced from Bangladesh and China.
First Retail managing director Chris Wilkinson said it was critical that L’Estrange-Corbet responded carefully to the concerns about World’s supply chain as she risked further damaging the brand’s reputation.
‘‘At face value there appears to be a double standard here as she’s gone on the record to criticise other brands for manufacturing overseas,’’ Wilkinson said.
The Commerce Commission received two complaints about World’s T-shirt labelling yesterday morning.
A commission spokesman said it would assess the complaint before deciding if it would investigate the matter.
World has taken down the web-page selling the strawberry sequinned T-shirt.
The red and white striped T-shirt the sequin patch was sewed on was from the brand AS Colour and made in Bangladesh.
L’Estrange-Corbet said World had sourced clothes from AS Colour for seven years and was fully aware of the working conditions where the clothes were made. ‘‘The garments are not sold as they are manufactured; they are all hand embellished/printed and hand finished, by us, in New Zealand, and available within our physical stores and online store.’’
World’s garments stated where they were made but not in the main label, in a tag on the inside seam.
She did not believe the brand was misleading consumers. ‘‘The World clothing tags that say Made in NZ are Made in NZ, so there is nothing misleading about this. As explained, the T-shirts do not state this.’’
Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said consumers would reasonably expect that clothing labelled as New Zealand made was manufactured here.