Breaching advertising codes

This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2008 Ad Standards upheld complaints about an ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ad was subsequently discontinued or modified.

Source: Ad Standards (2008)

Sweatshops in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines

This 2011 report by the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) examined working conditions in 83 factories in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Investigations found that widespread violations and abuses of workers' rights continue to be the norm, such as underpaying workers, long hours, forced overtime, and repression of the freedom of association. This company's brands were found to be made in one or more of the 83 factories covered in the research. [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: ITGLWF (2011)

Breaching advertising codes

This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2012 the UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints about a magazine ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ad was subsequently discontinued or modified.

Source: Advertising Standards Authority (2012)

Wage theft in Haiti

This 2013 report by the Workers Rights Consortium reveals that the majority of Haitian garment workers are being denied nearly a third of the wages they are legally due as a result of the factories' theft of their income. Wages for garment industry workers in Haiti are already among the lowest in the world. This company was named as being complicit in this wage theft.[Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: Workers Rights Consortium (2013)

Failure to sign International Accord

This company has been called out by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) for not signing the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry. All of the brands that have not yet signed the Accord continue to put workers' lives at risk and CCC urge them to sign on as soon as possible.

Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2023)

Detox commitment

Greenpeace launched its "Detox My Fashion" campaign in 2011 to expose the direct links between global clothing brands, their suppliers and toxic water pollution around the world. As a result, many companies, including this one, committed to Greenpeace's Detox Program. The 2016 Detox Catwalk report focused on implementation, assessing the steps taken by fashion brands to fulfil their commitments using three criteria: Detox 2020 plan, PFC elimination and Transparency. This company is "committed to Detox and has made progress implementing its plans, but its actions need to evolve faster to achieve the 2020 Detox goal".

Source: Greenpeace (2016)

Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals

In 2011, a group of major apparel and footwear brands and retailers, including this company, made a shared commitment to help lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. It includes specific commitments and timelines to realize this shared goal.

Source: ZDHC (2023)

Climate action commitments

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.

Source: We Mean Business (2021)

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)

Supply Chain Compliance

This 2010 report by As You Sow, "Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs", provides a scorecard and report focus on company programs such as: factory auditing, remediation, continuous improvement, collaboration, company management accountability, and transparency. This company received a B+ rating. [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: As You Sow (2010)

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)

Gender equality

This company appears on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, signifying a commitment to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency.

Source: Bloomberg (2023)

Fur free

This company has announced that they don't sell animal fur or are phasing in a fur-free policy.

Source: Humane Society (2019)

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)

Use of RDS-certified down

This company has committed to making products with RDS-certified down. The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) is an independent, voluntary global standard which ensures that down and feathers come from ducks and geese that have been treated well, with no live plucking or force feeding. However the RDS has been criticised by PETA, who claim live plucking still occurs at RDS farms. (https://bit.ly/3TAiNB6)

Source: RDS (2022)

Use of non-mulesed wool

Brands owned by this company are listed in Human Society International Australia's Better Wool Guide as using 100% non-mulesed wool from a robust certification scheme, or has a time-bound commitment to do so. Mulesing is the controversial practice of removing strips of the skin of a lamb's rear and is often done without pain relief. In Australia, the only country where mulesing still occurs, an estimated 10 million merino lambs are subjected to mulesing each year - equivalent to 19 lambs per minute.

Source: HSI Australia (2024)

UN Global Compact participant

The United Nations Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of 10 values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. However it's non-binding nature has been widely criticised, and many signatory corporations continue to violate the Compact's values.

Source: UN Global Compact (2020)

Contract Factory Disclosure List

This list was given to the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation during their campaign to force multinational buyers to disclose their suppliers to the public. Since 2005 a steady stream of brands have been releasing details of their supplier factories.

Source: ITGLWF (2010)

Sustainable Apparel Coalition member

This company is a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in March 2011 by a group of global apparel and footwear companies and non-profit organizations (representing nearly one third of the global market share for apparel and footwear). The Coalition's goals are to reduce the apparel industry's environmental and social impact, and to develop a universal index to measure environmental and social performance of apparel products.

Source: Sustainable Apparel Coalition (2023)

Textile Exchange member

This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.

Source: Textile Exchange (2019)

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)

Sustainability claims

This company has extensive sustainability claims on its website in the areas of people, planet, products and production.

Source: company website (2016)

Better Work Partner

This company is a partner of Better Work, an initiative of the UN's International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation which brings diverse groups together - governments, global brands, factory owners, and unions and workers - to improve working conditions in the garment industry and make the sector more competitive.

Source: Better Work (2020)

CanopyStyle member

This company is a member of the CanopyStyle initiative, which came about when research found that millions of trees are used every year to produce dissolving pulp, a key ingredient for fabrics such as rayon/viscose. The campaign seeks to phase out the use of endangered forest fibre in fabric.

Source: Canopy (2018)

GC3 member (Green Chemistry)

This company is a member of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3), a business-to-business forum that advances the application of green chemistry and design for environment across supply chains. It provides an open forum for cross-sectoral collaboration to share information and experiences about the challenges to and opportunities for safer chemicals and products.

Source: GC3 (2019)

Fashion Charter signatory

This company is a signatory to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, a United Nations initiative which contains the vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Source: UNFCCC (2023)

Leather Working Group member

This company is a member of the Leather Working Group, a multi-stakeholder group who's objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.

Source: Leather Working Group (2022)

38/100 in What Fuels Fashion?

What Fuels Fashion? is a single-issue, special edition of the Fashion Transparency Index. The 2024 report ranked 250 of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers according to their level of disclosure on climate and energy-related data in their own operations and supply chains. Brands owned by this company scored 38%. The average score was 18% and the highest score was 75%.

Source: Fashion Revolution (2024)

Modern Slavery statement

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.

Source: company website (2016)

BHRRC company profile

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.

Source: BHRRC (2022)

30.2% in Gender Benchmark

The 2023 Gender Benchmark ranks 112 companies from the apparel and food and agriculture sectors on their efforts to drive gender equality and women's empowerment across their entire value chain. Companies are assessed on governance and strategy, representation, compensation and benefits, health and well-being, violence and harassment, and marketplace and community. This company ranked #27/112, with a total score of 30.2%. The average score was 23% and the highest score was 55%.

Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2023)

30/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark

In 2023 KnowTheChain benchmarked 65 apparel and footwear companies on their efforts to identify and tackle forced labour risks in their supply chains. This company received a score of 30/100. The average score was 21/100 and the highest score was 63/100.

Source: KnowTheChain (2023)

26.6% in Nature Benchmark

The Nature Benchmark ranks 816 companies across 20 industries on their efforts to protect our environment and its biodiversity. Companies were assessed in three phases between 2022 and 2024 using three measurement areas: governance and strategy; social inclusion and community impact; and ecosystems and biodiversity. This company was assessed in 2022 and is ranked #123/816, with a total score of 26.6/100.

Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)