Call for fashion firm transparency

MANY of the biggest fashion brands still do not reveal enough information about their impact on workers in their supply chains or on the environment, according to a report.

The Fashion Transparency Index gives Adidas and Reebok the highest score of 121.5 out of 250 in a ranking of how much information 100 of the biggest global fashion companies publish about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Marks & Spencer ranked highly with 120 points, as did H& M with 119.5 points.

However, even the highest scoring brands on the list “still have a long way to go towards being transparent”, according to the report.

The average score achieved by those included in the index was 49 out of 250 – less than 20 per cent of the total possible points – and none of the companies scored above 50 per cent.

Brands were awarded points based on their level of transparency across five categories – policy and commitments, governance, traceability, supplier assessment and remediation and living wages, collective bargaining and business model innovation.