Youth apparel retailer
Established in 1972 and owned by the Smorgon family from 1995 until selling the business to Alquemie Group in 2022. General Pants operates 60 physical stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Company Ownership
General Pants Co Pty Ltd
AUS
Alquemie Group
owns 100% of General Pants Co Pty Ltd
AUS
Investment firm
Retail and consumer brands investment and growth platform managed by ACTA Capital. Operates a collection of owned and licensed retail brands including LEGO Certified Stores, Disney100, National Geographic, General Pants, SurfStitch, Ginger & Smart and Pumpkin Patch.
ACTA Capital Pty Ltd
owns 100% of Alquemie Group
AUS
Private equity firm
Founded in 2021 by former Alceon Group executive director Richard Facioni. Has co-management rights to Alceon's 36% stake in retailer Mosaic Brands and Alquemie Group, a collection of owned and licensed retail brands including LEGO Certified Stores, SurfStitch and Ginger & Smart.
Company Assessment
(Last updated Oct 2024)
Praise
Criticism
Information
General Pants Co Pty Ltd
Praise
Criticism
Information
Turkmen Cotton Pledge signatory
This company has signed the Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Turkmen cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Turkmenistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. Each cotton season, Turkmen public sector workers are forced by the government to fulfill cotton picking quotas and private businesses are forced to contribute to the efforts financially or with labor. This places a huge burden on the health, education, and general well-being of Turkmen citizens.
3/100 in Ethical Fashion Report
Baptist World Aid Australia's '2024 Ethical Fashion Report' assessed 120 companies on their efforts to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policy & governance, tracing & risk, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental sustainability. This company ranked in the bottom 20%, with a score of 3/100.
No COVID Fashion Commitments
In 2020 Baptist World Aid Australia released The COVID Fashion Report, a special edition of their Ethical Fashion Report. The report is framed around six COVID Fashion Commitments that ask companies to demonstrate the steps and measures they are taking to protect and support the most vulnerable workers in their supply chains. This company showed no evidence of actions that it covered any of the COVID Fashion Commitments.
Breaching advertising codes
This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. Between 2009 and 2017 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about five ads by this company on the grounds that they breached advertising codes. The ads were subsequently discontinued or modified.
Uzbek Cotton Pledge signatory
This company signed the Uzbek Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. However the Pledge was lifted in March 2022 after the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, who monitored the annual cotton harvest since 2010, found no state-imposed forced labor in the 2021 harvest.
Source: Cotton Campaign
(2022)
Angora ban
This company has taken angora items off the shelves and promised not to use angora again, following a PETA campaign launched in Dec 2013 which revealed the cruelty inflicted on angora rabbits in Chinese factory farms, where 90% of the world's angora is produced.
Source: PETA
(2018)
Better Cotton Initiative member
This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
Source: Better Cotton Initiative
(2022)
Alquemie Group
No assessment data currently available for Alquemie Group.
ACTA Capital Pty Ltd
No assessment data currently available for ACTA Capital Pty Ltd.
Company Details
Type:
Private company
Founded:
1972
Contact Details
Address:
25/30-32 Beaconsfield St, Alexandria, NSW, 2015, Australia
Phone:
02 9290 0800
Freecall:
1300 191 468
Website:
Products / Brands
General Pants
General Pants
Clothing Stores
General Pants Co Basics
Menswear (casual)
Insight
Snow/Skate/Surfwear
Insight
Youth Fashion