What’s Going On Here?
It’s Fashion Revolution Week and the campaign group behind it, Fashion Revolution, has published its fifth Fashion Transparency Index report which reviews 250 largest brands and retailers, scores and ranks them based on the information they tell us about their practices, social and environmental policies and importantly, their impact.
What Does This Mean?
Fashion Revolution Week encourages clothing brands and producers to show transparency in their supply chain.It uses 250 indicators such as biodiversity, chemical use, climate impact and waste and recycling to give each one a % score, where 100% is full disclosure of all 250 indicators.
Last year when we wrote about the 2019 report, the average score for all brands and retailers was 21% and the good news is, it is now 23%! But what about the rest, huh?
Why Should We Care?
The fashion industry has a big impact on the environment- from the materials it uses, the way clothes are manufactured to the deliveries to our doorsteps. The index doesn’t rank brands on their impact, but instead on how much they tell us about their practices which can help lawmakers, investors and us as consumers make more informed decisions.So, here you go – some of the best and worst for ya…
1. H&M 73%
2. C&A 70%
3. Adidas and Reebok 69%
4. Esprit 64%
5. Marks & Spencer and Patagonia 60%
Monsoon, Asics, Clarks and Urban Outfitters have all improved their score but Tom Ford, Bally, Max Mara, Claire’s, Billabong, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing all scored between 0 and 10%…so what are they hiding?
Be Curious!
- Check the report for yourself to see where your favourite brands rank!
- If you don’t get the answers you need, ask them – use the #whomademyclothes? hashtag on social media.
- Obviously, we can’t get to charity shops right now and whilst we aren’t ones to encourage buying new things unnecessarily if you REALLY do need that new loungewear to bake that banana bread in, check out these sustainable brands that are still delivering.
- This is a really tough time for small sustainable brands. If you can, support them by buying gift vouchers to use at a later date (give them as birthday presents!).
- In need of a new game to play on Zoom this weekend? Play Fashion Revolution Top Trumps!
