CathNews New Zealand

An Australian survey to find ethical clothing retailers has given companies a simple letter grade based on their policies for supply chain, monitoring practises, and worker empowerment.

The most ethical clothing retailers have mostly been fair trade companies, but retail giant Zara, shortly to be launched in New Zealand,  also scored an A grade.

Glassons was graded an F last year, for not disclosing their data.

This time round the have been given a C+ grade.

Price wasn’t necessarily an indicator of transparent practices, either: Karen Walker scored a C, while chain store Factorie got a B+.

Gershon Nimbalker of Baptist World Aid said in the three years they’ve commissioned the study, they’ve seen substantial progress.

Baptist World Aid wanted to simplify matters for consumers who want to make better choices.

“Even though they’re willing to do more, they don’t know who to trust… We wanted to make that decision a lot easier,” Nimbalker explained.

“Any member of the public can just go, ‘Oh these guys are doing really well, let’s buy from them,’ or ‘These guys might not be.'”

The survey was first conducted following the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed 1136 garment workers.

KIWI FASHION GRADES

• Zara A

• Adidas A-

• Factorie B+

• Witchery B+

• Country Road B+

• Cotton On B+

• Rubi B+

• AS Colour B-

• Kathmandu B-

• Vans B-

• Asos C+

• Glassons C+

•  Levis C+

• Nike C+

• Topshop C+

• Just Jeans C+

• Karen Walker C

• Ezibuy C

• Pumpkin Patch D

• Seed Heritage F

• Boohoo.com F

Look at Report

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: retail-focus.co.uk

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News category: New Zealand.