Planning on hitting up those chain stores to purchase your summer wardrobe? Better check whether your favourites are on this “name and shame” list first…
Two years since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh — which ended the lives of 1,100 factory employees and sparked investigation into working conditions in sweatshops — a worrying number of companies are still failing to ensure fair wages and safe conditions for their workers.
The Australian Fashion Report 2015, launched by international development organisations Baptist World Aid and Not For Sale, which aims to empower consumers with the knowledge needed to purchase fashion ethically.
This year, it assessed the ethical practices of 219 clothing brands — and found that popular retailers including Rockmans and Lowes are some of the worst offenders.
Many brands now produce in Bangladesh, which in recent years has become wildly popular for ready-made garment suppliers and where the wage is approximately $39 a month, 75% cheaper than China.
In Bangladesh, factories often try to meet the demands of international retailers,by accepting multiple orders which results in overburdening of their workers; Consequently, workers are forced to work overtime and meet high quotas, Australian Women’s Weekly reports.
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Here’s how some of the biggest Austrlaian fashion retailers ranked in the report. You can read the full report, including a more extensive ‘name and shame’ list, here.
Some of the worst offenders: a sample of brands scoring Ds and Fs.
Industrie, the Australian menswear retailer.
Glassons, a New Zealander women’s fashion retailer.
Lowes, an Australian menswear and schoolwear retail chain.
R.M. Williams, a men’s and women’s apparel retailer.
Fast Future Brands, which owns ValleyGirl and TEMT.
Pretty Girl Fashion Group, which owns Rockmans, beme, W. Lane and Table Eight.
Related content: Some things are better hidden. The conditions in factories isn’t one of them.
Not so bad: Some of the brands scoring As and Bs.
H & M, the major Swedish retailer for Women, Men and Children.
Adidas, which makes sports footwear, apparel and accessories.
Country Road Group, a group of Australian fashion retailers including Country Road, Trenery, Witchery and Mimco.
Cue Clothing Co, a popular womens clothing and accessories retailer.
Gap Inc, global retail giant offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women and children.
Jeans West, a clothing retailer in Australia and New Zealand for women, men and children.
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Although far too many companies continue to use exploitative methods, it’s not all bad news: Since the 2013 Australian Fashion Report, two thirds of the companies which were named in the have improved their labor rights and a 100% have implemented codes of conduct (up 85%).
Fairtrade companies were, unsurprisingly, stand-outs in the 2015 report, with all their brands receiving A grades. In particular, the report praised Etiko and newcomer Audrey Blue for their fair wages.
“The Cotton On Group takes honours for being the highest rated, non-Fairtrade Australian retailer,” the report declared.
Meanwhile, “H&M and Inditex, the two biggest fashion retailers in the world, are amongst the best rated international brands, receiving A grades while also taking action to ensure workers at the final stage of production are being paid above the minimum wage.”
Here’s hoping the other Australian retailers follow those labels’ leads.
Do you check where your clothes are made? Do reports like this impact whether or not you will shop somewhere?
Top Comments
The RM Williams leather goods (shoes, belts) are I believe still made in South Australia. The hats made by Akubra, in NSW (or were), the pants, shirts and dresses I don't know. BUT I think if they did not respond to the survey they get lowest mark and named and shamed; which is terrible if it turns out they are still all Australian made? Can the author address this issue?
I worked at RM Williams in retail a few years ago and (at least at the store i worked for) management will do anything to cut costs. 1-2 hours before/after store operating hours spent cleaning, unpacking stock, etc each day that were unpaid, no tea breaks, many days with no lunch breaks, oh&s issues galore in the stockroom, no working air conditioning, and criticism from our manager about taking too many bathroom breaks/drinking water in the sight of customers. This is the Australian standard - i hate to think how poorly the overseas workers have been treated...
You clearly don't understand how this works. You say they have an income? Well they do for a while. These companies eat the entire lives of these people, give them the minimum they can get away with making them reliant and forcing them to become slaves - but most get used up and thrown out. These companies steal the lives of these people and leave them worse off in a lot of ways. I deal with this stuff daily and you clearly love your jeans.
It's not really any different for a lot of low wage earners here in Australia. I worked for years in horrid conditions with blatant discrimination and unsafe work practices including abuse of varying kinds, in temperatures up to 55 degrees C in a hot tin factory laboring extremely long hours 6 days a week for a pittance that I could barely survive on. We had a union too, and I regret every cent of union fees I ever paid because the only real agenda the unions had going was for themselves.