Clothing retail
Bought by Soloman Lew's Premier Investments in August 2008. Brands include Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Jacqui E, Peter Alexander, Dotti and Smiggle. They operate over 950 stores.
Company Ownership
Just Group
AUS
Premier Investments Ltd
owns 100% of Just Group
AUS
Investment firm
Chaired by one of Australia's richest men, Solomon Lew. Lindsay Fox is also on the board of Directors. Acquired clothing retail group Just Group in 2008.
Century Plaza Investments Pty Ltd
owns 42% of Premier Investments Ltd
AUS
Property developer and investment company
Solomon Lew's investment vehicle. Owns 42% of Premier Investments.
Company Assessment
(Last updated Oct 2024)
Praise
Criticism
Information
Just Group
Praise
Criticism
Information
3/5 for packaging performance
This company received a packaging performance level of 3 (Advanced) in its 2024 APCO Annual Report. Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is a not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia. Each year, APCO Members are required to submit an APCO Annual Report and Action Plan, which includes an overall performance level from 1 (Getting Started) to 5 (Beyond Best Practice).
Source: APCO
(2024)
International Accord signatory
This company is a signatory to the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry. The International Accord was established in 2021 as the successor to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which was established in 2013 in the wake of the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,000 workers and seriously injured thousands more. Company signatories to the International Accord commit to: Disclosing all factories producing for them in countries with International Accord programs; Ensuring all listed factories participate in the inspection, remediation, and safety training programs; Supporting factories to ensure remediation is financially feasible; Contributing to the operational costs of International Accord programs.
Source: International Accord
(2023)
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.
Efforts to pay a living wage
Oxfam Australia's Company Tracker compares the big clothing brands on their efforts to pay a living wage to the women working in their factories. This company has not published a list of its supplier factories, has not made a public commitment to paying living wages, and has not committed to ringfence wages.
Source: Oxfam Australia
(2021)
1.5/4 for purchasing practices
In 2020 Oxfam evaluated several clothing brand's purchasing practices across seven categories: whether a brand provides accurate forecasts of upcoming work to factories; its price negotiation strategies; whether a factory's environmental and social compliance influences the brand's purchasing decisions; how a brand places orders with factories; what its payment terms are; commitment to pay a living wage; and the transparency of a brand's supply chain. This company was given a score of 1.5 with 4 being the highest possible score.
Source: Oxfam Australia
(2020)
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.
Workers rights in Bangladesh
According to Oxfam's 2019 report, "Made in Poverty - The True Cost of Fashion", this company sources from Bangladesh and Vietnam. Some of the many disturbing findings of the research in Bangladesh were that 100 per cent of workers interviewed were not paid a living wage, nine out of ten could not afford enough food for themselves and their families until their next monthly pay and seven out of 10 could not pay for medical treatment when they were sick or injured. In Vietnam, 99 per cent were not paid a living wage and seven out of 10 women interviewed felt their pay was not enough to meet their needs.
Source: Oxfam Australia
(2019)
Breaching advertising codes
This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2013 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about a poster ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ads were subsequently discontinued or modified.
Sandblasting
This company has publicly banned sandblasting. Sandblasting is a dangerous and deadly process which involves workers firing sand at jeans under high pressure. It has been known to kill workers within months as the inhalation of large amounts of silica dust generated during sandblasting causes silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign
(2012)
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
(2015)
Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety member
This company is a member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a legally binding, five-year commitment to improve safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment factories. The Alliance aims to improve worker safety in the Bangladesh garment industry by upgrading factories, educating workers and management, empowering workers, and building institutions that can enforce and maintain safe working conditions throughout Bangladesh. However it lacks an important enforcement mechanism included in the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, and unlike the Accord, the Alliance has not received the endorsement of the ILO.
CDP Climate Change score of C
In 2023, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change score of C.
Source: CDP
(2023)
Workers rights
Follow the link to see what Oxfam Australia has to say about this company.
Source: Oxfam Australia
(2019)
36/100 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 received a score of 36/100. The average score was 31.3 and the highest score was 90.
Premier Investments Ltd
Praise
Criticism
Information
14/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 14/100 in the Retailing category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 18 Nov 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global
(2022)
Modern Slavery disclosure quality
Modern slavery disclosure is a critical step in mitigating the risk associated with modern slavery practices in companies' operations and supply chains. The quality of the disclosure signals the level of commitments and efforts that the companies have put in managing these risks. In 2021 the Monash Centre for Financial Studies analysed and ranked the disclosure quality of the modern slavery statements submitted by the 300 largest listed companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX300). This company's modern slavery disclosure statement received a grade of D.
Source: Monash University
(2021)
Company Details
Type:
Unlisted public company
Contact Details
Address:
658 Church St, Richmond , VIC, 3121, Australia
Phone:
03 9420 0200
Website:
Products / Brands
Just Group
Dotti
Womens Fashion
Jacqui E
Womens Fashion
Jay Jays
Youth Fashion
Just Jeans
Denim
Just Jeans
Womens Fashion
Just Jeans
Menswear (casual)
Peter Alexander
Underwear/Socks/Sleepwear
Portmans
Womens Fashion
Smiggle
Stationery Stores