Ethical fashion
How does NZ fare?
An advocate for ethical fashion says top brands are not doing enough to protect workers in their international supply chains despite attempts being made.
One hundred and fourteen companies — including 18 from New Zealand — were graded by relief and development group Tearfund on their ethical fashion practices, with three of five highest-rated brands from New Zealand.
Icebreaker was found to be the most improved retail brand, jumping from a D- grade in last year’s report to an A+, based on its transparency across supply chains, worker rights, policies and practices in place.
The companies were assessed at three critical stages of the supply chain — raw materials, input production and final stage production.
Outdoors clothing retailer Kathmandu and Kowtow also rated highly.
Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, the owner of Glassons and Hallenstein stores, was given a B+ grade, Macpac a B grade and The Warehouse Group a C grade.
High fashion brand Trelise Cooper was the lowest graded New Zealand retailer — given an F grade, along with K&K Fashions and children’s wear company T&T, all of which did not participate in the research.
Mid-market department store Farmers was given a D- grading and Ruby Apparel a D+.
Karen Walker received a C grading and menswear retailer Barkers received a C+ grading.
Designer Trelise Cooper said her brand received an F grade due to not taking part in the research, and it wasn’t a reflection of its practices.
“Like the women who wear my clothing, I am deeply serious about social responsibility and strong, ethical standards.
“The reality is Tearfund approached us to provide information, and we did our best to cooperate but in the end we could not meet arbitrary deadlines set by that organisation.”
K&K Fashions general manager Avi Korpus said they were contacted late in the year leaving them with insufficient time to engage with the process.
“Obviously we are disappointed with the grade. However it is important to note that it does not reflect our measure of social responsibility but only that we chose not to fully engage with the research this year.”
Max’s executive director Simon West said the reason for their D+ grade was because they did not participate in the survey.
“We’re doing a lot of work in this area and have made our social responsibility programme information available directly to our customers and other interested parties on our website.”
But Ruby general manager Emily Miller-Sharma acknowledged a disappointing D+ grade had highlighted what they needed to work on.
“Ruby team members, including myself, visit all of our factories both in China and New Zealand regularly. We’ve seen the facilities, we know the workers, they’re part of the Ruby family,” she said. “As it stands, our auditing process does not meet the requirements set by Tearfund, so right now, our focus is to redress this.”
Other companies with low ratings that were approached for comment did not respond last night.
Overall, New Zealand companies scored an average B- grade in the report released today, unchanged from the ranking given last year.
“New Zealand has made great progress in the last year with seven companies publishing supplier lists, up from zero companies in 2017,” said Tearfund ethical fashion project manager Claire Hart. “However, many are yet to do this and stay on track with progress being made by the industry on a global scale.”
Common Good, Icebreaker, Barkers, Freeset, Kathmandu, The Warehouse Group and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings published lists of their suppliers.
No company was found to be paying a living wage all the way down the supply chain, and just two companies were paying a living wage to workers in the final stage and input production facilities.
Kowtow, Icebreaker, Freeset and Common Good scored A gradings for their policies centred around worker empowerment.
“It’s a step in the right direction but it is evident we still have a long way to go before we will see a major shift in the industry,” Hart said.