Women's fashion
Emerged late 2006 in Melbourne as a start up retailer and now operates 111 stores across 7 countries.
Company Assessment
(Last updated Oct 2024)
Praise
Criticism
Information
Forever New Clothing Pty Ltd
Praise
Criticism
Information
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)
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 released the names and addresses of at least 70% of their supplier factories, has taken some action towards paying a living wage within a set timeframe in the supply chain, and has made a commitment to ringfence wages.
Source: Oxfam Australia
(2021)
60/100 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 top 20%, with a score of 60/100.
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)
Workers rights in Bangladesh
This 2012 report by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights reveals how women sewing garments for this company at the Northern Fashion factory in Bangladesh are cheated of their maternity benefits, beaten, forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day for just 21 cents an hour, while being trapped in miserable and rat infested slums. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
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)
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)
Community & environment claims
This company has a number of community & environment claims on its website, mainly in the areas of ethical supply chain, environment and responsible fibers.
Source: company website
(2022)
Some 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 evidence of actions that cover SOME areas of the COVID Fashion Commitments.
Modern Slavery disclosure quality
Human Rights Law Centre's 2022 report, "Broken Promises: Two years of corporate reporting under Australia's Modern Slavery Act", examines statements submitted to the Government's Modern Slavery Register by 92 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia. Modern slavery statements are analysed to see if they comply with the mandatory reporting requirements, identify or disclose obvious modern slavery risks, and demonstrate effective actions to address risks. This company's modern slavery disclosure statement received a rating in the 41-60% range. The average score was 44% and the highest score was 89%.
Source: Human Rights Law Centre
(2022)
Company Details
Type:
Private Company
Founded:
2006
Contact Details
Address:
Level 1, Building 8, 576 Swan St, Richmond, VIC, 3121, Australia
Phone:
1300 720 687
Website:
Products / Brands
Forever New
Forever New
Womens Fashion
Forever New Curve
Womens Plus Size