More than 100 fashion brands across 42 companies are now publishing lists of their suppliers, representing a dramatic increase in transparency in the past 18 months.
Fashion Revolution assessed 40 leading fashion brands in 2016 and found that only five brands published a list of their manufacturers and only two published the names and addresses of sub-contractors or fabric/yarn suppliers. Follow up research in June this year found a dramatic push towards transparency, with106 brands across 42 companies/parent groups disclosing at least some of the facilities making their clothes.
Since the beginning of 2017 brands that have published a supplier list for the first time include ASOS, Berghaus, Benetton, Brooks Sports, Joe Fresh, Hugo Boss, Uniqlo and others.
Over the past year Marks & Spencer has published an interactive map of its suppliers in both food and clothing, which spans 53 countries and covers 1,229 factories employing 787,331 workers. Gap, C&A, VF Corporation (which owns more than 20 brands including The North Face, Timberland, Vans and Wrangler) and Australia's Jeanswest have all revealed the names and addresses of the factories that manufacture their clothing around the world.
Publishing supplier lists is important because it helps NGOs, unions, local communities and even workers themselves to alert brands of any potential human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains.
