Last week, the Baptist World Aid Australian Fashion Report 2015 took aim at The Just Group for its sourcing policies.
But it wasn't all bad.
Here are some of the Australian and New Zealand fashion companies that received an honourable mention.
Country Road Group and Sussan Group
"Prominent Australian female apparel brand owners, Country Road Group and the Sussan Group, both pay their manufacturing workers in China approximately 150% above the legal minimum wage - a good step towards paying a living wage. While both companies have not yet extended their commitment to a living wage to other areas of their supply chain such as textile mills, this is still a positive first step in ensuring all workers are paid adequately."
Cue and R&M Williams
"Cue Clothing and R.M. Williams also deserve recognition for sourcing their Ethical Clothing Australia accredited lines of apparel from facilities and homeworkers in Australia who receive a living wage. Inditex (owners of Zara) and H&M are also paying wages above the legal minimum in a number of their cut-make-trim facilities in Europe."
Cotton On Group
"The Cotton On Group not only has a strong code of conduct addressing core ILO [International Labour Organisation] standards, it also makes the specifics of this code (known as ’14 Rules to Trade’) and all of their policies towards ethical sourcing publicly available on their website. Details of the company’s policies addressing subcontracting, audits, supplier compliance, responsible purchasing practices and multi-stakeholder initiatives are all publically available, allowing consumers to make informed decisions about their purchases. This brings Cotton On’s code close to par with large international brands like H&M and Zara in terms of quality and accessibility, while establishing a firm foundation to build effective monitoring benchmarks."
Liminal Apparel
"Liminal Apparel is a Fairtrade and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) accredited company that sources its entire supply chain from India. Liminal Apparel has disclosed its full supply chain information visually though an interactive online platform called ‘UnZipMyHood’, which visually traces the journey that a Liminal Apparel hoodie takes from farm to store. This platform publically disclosed the names and addresses of all facilities, from the cotton farms and textile mills, to the final cut-make-trim facilities. At each stage of production the platform also provides information about the facility and worker demographics as well as a video, cleverly combining both transparency and traceability. This innovative display encourages consumers to become aware of where garments come from and to engage in the entire journey of production."
