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)

Class action settlement

Billabong reached a conditional agreement in July 2016 to settle a shareholder class action for $45 million. The class action commenced in 2015 and was pursued on behalf of approximately 730 institutional and retail investors, and concerned the timing of an earnings downgrade which saw share prices plummet.

Source: news article (2016)

Former boss jailed for fraud

In Jan 2017 former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin was sentenced to serve eight years in jail for over 12 counts of fraud. Perrin was found guilty of forging his ex-wife's signature to defraud the Commonwealth Bank of $13.5 million.

Source: news article (2017)

Paper policy

Following a campaign by the Rainforest Action Network in 2009, this company pledged to take concrete action to clean their supply chains of rainforest paper and sever relationships with companies (like Asia Pulp and Paper) who continue to destroy high conservation and endangered forests in Indonesia and elsewhere.

Source: RAN (2010)

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)

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)

Sweatshops in China

This 2007 investigative report by China Labour Watch reveals poor work conditions for Chinese workers making products for this company, such as workers being required to work nine hours per day as regular hours in addition to five to six hours of mandatory overtime during peak season which accumulates to 14 work hours per day, about 420 hours per month. [Listed under information due to age of report]

Source: China Labor Watch (2007)

Worker exploitation in India

Maid in India', a 2012 report by two Dutch NGOs (SOMO and ICN) revealed how workers in the South Indian garment and textile industry continue to suffer exploitative working conditions while making garments for Western brands. While some recent improvements have been made, thousands of girls work under recruitment and employment schemes that amount to bonded labour. This company was shown to be sourcing from one or more of the four garment manufacturers investigated, and failed to respond to a review request. [Listed under Information due to age of report]

Source: SOMO (2012)

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)

Quiksilver Foundation

The Quiksilver Foundation was formed in 2004 to bring all of Quiksilver's charitable giving under one umbrella. It is a non-profit organization committed to benefiting and enhancing the quality of life for communities of boardriders across the world by supporting environmental, educational, health and youth-related projects.

Source: company website (2012)

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)

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 (2017)

OpenSecrets.org profile

OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.

Source: Open Secrets (2024)