There is a bit of a problem going on with a handful of high-end fashion brands these days. According to Fashion Revolution, a not-for-profit organization that is designed to focus on greater transparency in fashion’s supply chain, have notified that a few brands are trying to disclose their details about the supply chain. If there are any breaches that are unethical and not within the rules of the Fashion Industry, those breaches will be undetected or undetectable if worse comes to it.
Fashion brands were sent questionnaires to fill out that will assess transparency scorings. There was direct research on the brands conducted as well to find out about the supply chains of the brands.
None of the fashion brands had scored above 50 percent, which would then require the brands to announce information that is highly detailed about all the assessments and findings from manufacturing and raw materials. For the sight of consumers, it is critical that fashion businesses process those results.
Policies and commitment from the brands are out in the public, but there are tons of practices that are not brought to light. There is no speculation into how the fashion brands provide for their workers in the supply chain and no word on the environment.
The research is incredibly concealed. The issues that were examined included animal rights, forced labor and about 28 more topics and complications that the fashion brands encounter. The scorings are usually out of 250 percent, but brands did not get as far as 49 percent, a grade that is horribly concerning. 49 percent is appallingly low, making it seem like the fashion industry has way more hiding up in the clouds.
Is the fashion industry more corrupt than people think? Chances are slowly pointing to most likely. It is no good that such a popular industry is not as morally ethical as we want it to be.
Not every brand is as shady as others, with Reebok, Adidas and Gap with the highest scores. The other brands that did not achieve the best percentages are Dior, Giorgio Armani, Abercrombie and Fitch, Urban Outfitters, and Amazon. A couple of fashion brands did not hand over any material at all and only eight were lucky enough to get over 40 percent.
There were only five areas in which the fashion brands were supposed to talk about. There was supposed to be the code of conducts, a set of rules that describe the rules and regulations for the brand. There had to be governance, the ethics of the brand and what they stand for. Supplier lists, where materials and other raw production come from that aids in the expansion and growth of the business. Business standards and how the fashion brands handle conflict had to be posted and last, but not least, money and power issues had to be brought up. It does not seem like that complicated of a list to discuss on, but fashion brands still refused to unleash too much information.
The policy document is not difficult to comprehend, but there is worry that the document will not be as impactful. There is a huge gap in knowing where production stems from, the brands biggest weakness in the research. There is no promise to acknowledge that lack of knowledge the brands should be providing. It does not necessarily have to be the fashion brands fault, considering much of the production issues are hidden since the founders of the brands cannot always be there.
It will always be a mystery to consumers, the public, and at times, the brand itself.
We can only put that it is Fashion Revolution’s responsibility to find out the correct reports.