Why Transparency matters

We believe transparency is the first
step to transform the industry.
And it starts with one simple question:
Who made my clothes?

This is our focus for the next five years. We believe this simple question gets people thinking differently about what they wear. We need to know that as consumers, our questions, our voices, our shopping habits can have the power to help change things for the better. With more consumers encouraging brands to answer ‘who made my clothes?’, we believe Fashion Revolution has the power to push the industry to be more transparent.

Downloads

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It’s time for a Fashion Revolution
Fashion Revolution White Paper on transparency in the fashion supply chain.
Published December 2015.
Download. Also available in Spanish and Portuguese

Fashion Transparency Index 2017
Ranking the levels of transparency of 100 of the biggest global fashion companies
Download. Also available in Spanish. Read the FAQs

The situation now:
We don’t know enough about the impact
our clothing has on people and planet

While we are seeing companies share their policies and commitments on human rights and the environment, there is still much crucial information about the practices of the fashion industry that remains concealed — particularly when it comes to impact on the lives of workers in the supply chain and on the environment.

The Fashion Transparency Index 2017 reviews and ranks 100 of the biggest global fashion and apparel brands and retailers according to how much information they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact.

We assessed brands across five key areas:

The results aren’t that surprising: the average score for all 100 brands is 49 out of 250, proving that there is still a lot of work to be done.

The good news is that 32 of the 100 brands in the Fashion Transparency Index 2017  are publishing supplier lists — at least at the first tier where clothes are typically cut, sewn and trimmed. This is an increase from last year in which just five of the 40 companies reviewed were publishing supplier lists.

In total 106 major apparel brands publish a supplier list, find out who’s publishing here. (Current as of June 2017)

There is still so much we don’t know about the people who make our clothes, from farm to retail.

Why we need transparency

Lack of transparency costs lives. It’s impossible for companies to make sure human rights are respected and that environmental practices are sound without knowing where their products are made. That’s why transparency is essential.

Transparency means companies know who makes their clothes – from who stitched them right through to who dyed the fabric and who farmed the cotton — and under what conditions. Crucially, it requires brands to share this information publicly.

If we know the facilities where our clothes are being made, if we have access to factory, mill and farm lists where brands are sourcing then the public can help hold the industry to account for bad practices and encourage good practices.

This is what Fashion Revolution is asking for.

Transparency is not the end game

Transparency alone does not represent the sort of structural, systemic change we would like to see for the fashion industry — but it helps us get there. Transparency helps to reveal the structures in place so we can better understand how to change them. Transparency shines a light on issues often kept in the dark. It is an important first step towards positive change.

Ultimately, Fashion Revolution believes that the whole fashion industry needs a radical paradigm shift and that the way that we produce and consume clothes needs to be transformed. This means business models will need to change and a multiplicity of solutions will be required.

Here are some ways that companies can demonstrate their commitment to transparency:

1. Answer your customers’ #whomademyclothes questions with specific information, not just your policies.
2. Share photos and personal stories of workers in your supply chain using the hashtag #imadeyourclothes
3. Make one product completely transparent. Companies could do this through tools like Provenance, Caretrace or QR codes.
4. Make at least one whole supply chain transparent. Companies could do this through tools like String , Sourcemap or Cotton Connect.
5. Publish your suppliers publicly – in a searchable format.
6. Publish even more details about your suppliers, including the results of your supplier assessments. Make this information easy-to-understand.
7. Publish more information about the real-world effects of your supply chain practices.
8. Offer your customers both product and price transparency, like the pioneering brand Honest by.
9. Publish direct contact details for your CSR department on your website should anyone want to find out more about your products and practices.

Transparency is a process

We recognise that being transparent is difficult. As a business, you might fear transparency because you don’t want it to jeopardise your competitiveness, or because you might not be able to answer workers or suppliers if questions are asked, or because it might uncover issues you don’t know how to resolve. We know it can be complicated.

But we live in an era when personal and corporate secrets can be unravelled with a few lines of code or clicks of the mouse, and so today, it is only a matter of time before the public discovers the facts.

Everyone keeping
companies accountable
together