The Annual Fashion Report has been released, not looking good for some of your faves

Creating smarter shoppers.

UPDATE:

Along with a number of other retailers, General Pants Co. has called into question the integrity and veracity of this report. According to a statement released by General Pants, it seems a ranking of “F” is not always based on a company’s labour rights management system, as is purported by the original report. 

Instead, General Pants states the publisher (Baptist World Aid) sent a questionnaire to retailers, stating in writing that in the absence of a response, a grading of “F” would automatically apply. In the report, these company names are asterisked.

General Pants Group’s chief supplier is APG, which is among the highest rated companies identified in the report. You can read the full statement here and view the full report here. 

The original article published on Fashion Journal is as follows:

Sorry lovers of General Pants and Lorna Jane. If you were hoping to support ethical fashion, you might need to find somewhere new to shop.

This year’s Annual Fashion Report has been released, and it’s not looking good for a few of your faves.

The report has seen 87 companies given a grade from A-F, reflecting the state of each company’s labour rights management systems to reduce the risk of exploitation in their supply chains. 

If you’ve been shopping at Zara and like to workout in adidas, then congratulations, they’re some of the top performers. Intidex (who owns Zara) received an A grade, while adidas received an A-.

The Cotton on Group, APG & Co (Saba, Sportscraft, Willow, JAG), The Country Road Group and Pacific Brands (Bonds) all received a reasonable B+.

Unfortunately, some other fashion faves missed the mark a little. Lululemon, Kookai and Bardot were among the country’s worst performers, receiving Cs across the board. 

Usurprisingly, Fairtrade labels are receiving top mark, with Fairtrade certified brands Etiko and Audrey Blue topping the table as the only two Australian labels to be awarded A+ grades.

The aim of the analysis is to “assist consumers, governments and corporations to continue this trend: and in doing so, help the fashion industry realise its potential to contribute to a world free from poverty and exploitation.” 

The report has been released in the lead up to Sunday’s Fashion Revolution Day. The initiative works to increase awareness around fashion production, in the wake of the Rana Plaza collapse which killed 1,134 people and injured over 2,500 others in 2013.

You can read the full report here.