Bras N Things
OVERALL |
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Owned |
USA |
Rating |
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Lingerie and active wear
Established in 1987 by Brett Blundy. Women's lingerie, sleepwear and swimwear, primarily designed and marketed under in-house labels. More than 180 stores across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Products are designed in Australia and produced in Asia. Acquired by HanesBrands in 2018.
Company Ownership
| Bras N Things Pty Ltd | AUS | website | ||||
Hanes Australasia Ltd 
owns 100% of Bras N Things Pty Ltd |
AUS | website | ||||
Underwear and bedding Formerly Pacific Brands. Sold its workwear division to Wesfarmers in 2014 and Brand Collective division to Anchorage Capital in 2015. In 2016 US clothing giant Hanesbrands acquired the two remaining divisions of underwear (Bonds, Berlei, etc) and bedding (Sheridan, Tontine) for $1.1 billion. Hanesbrands has since sold off Tontine and Dunlop Flooring. | ||||||
| Hanesbrands Inc
owns 100% of Hanes Australasia Ltd |
USA | website | ||||
Basic apparel Part of Sara Lee until 2006. Acquired Australia's Pacific Brands in 2016 for AU$1.1 billion, and in 2018 bought Bras N Things for $500 million. | ||||||
Company Assessment
| PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
| Bras N Things Pty Ltd | ||||
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This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2016 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about a tv ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ad was subsequently discontinued or modified.
[Source 2016][More on Irresponsible Marketing]
This company has ethical standards claims on its website.
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting] |
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| Hanes Australasia Ltd | ||||
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Oxfam Australia's Company Tracker compares the big clothing brands on their efforts to pay a living wage to the women working in their factories. This company has released the names and addresses of at least 70% of their supplier factories, and has taken some action towards paying a living wage within a set timeframe in the supply chain.
[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights] |
This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2012 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about two ads by this company on the grounds that they breached advertising codes. The ads were subsequently discontinued or modified.
[Source 2012][More on Irresponsible Marketing]
Rag trade giant Pacific Brands is facing a $9 million bullying claim with a former manager alleging a senior executive yelled foul abuse and physically intimidated his juniors.
[Source 2011][More on Workers rights]
This 2013 report by The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) investigates the labour and human rights risks in supply chain sourcing. This company is identified on page 21 as a company which sources products from countries with known systemic labour and human rights concerns.
[Source 2013][More on Human Rights]
Pacific Brands has defended the pay packages of its CEO and board directors. The chief executive Sue Morphett's pay trebled last year to $1.8 million after she was promoted from general manager of underwear to company CEO. It's also been revealed the total pay package for the company's 13 directors almost doubled last year to $15 million. Pacific Brands says the decision announced this week to sack 1800 workers and move offshore was made after a review and that the redundancies are regrettable. Pacific Brands received more than $17 million in government assistance between 2007 and 2009.
[Source 2009][More on Governance]
This company has a number of ethical sourcing claims on its website.
[Source 2015][More on Sustainability Reporting]
This company is one of of a handful of major Australian fashion retailers to publish the names and addresses of their supplier factories.
[Source 2016][More on Governance]
Follow the link to see what Oxfam Australia has to say about this company.
[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights]
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs. They work in partnership to improve the lives of workers across the globe who make or grow consumer goods - everything from tea to T-shirts, from flowers to footballs. This company's membership status is 'resigned'.
[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]
Since February 2009 when Pacific Brands announced a controversial restructuring that saw it shut its Australian factories there has been about 2700 jobs lost.
[Source 2011] |
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| Hanesbrands Inc | ||||
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In 2018, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of A-.
[Source 2018][More on Climate Change]
A grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's 'Ethical Fashion Report 2019', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policies, transparency and traceability, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental management.
[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights]
Responsible Sourcing Network's 2014 report Cotton Sourcing Snapshot: A Survey of Corporate Practices to End Forced Labor includes survey results and ratings of 49 companies reflecting actions they are taking to stop cotton from Uzbekistan picked with forced labor from entering their supply chains. The survey offered a maximum of 100 points across 11 indicators in the categories of Policy, Public Disclosure, Engagement, and Implementation & Auditing. Only five companies scored over 50 points, 19 companies (including this company) scored under 25 points, and two companies scored zero. *UPDATE* This company improved its score to over 50 in 2015.
[Source 2015][More on Human Rights]
In 2018 KnowTheChain benchmarked 120 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 50/100.
[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]
In 2018, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of B-.
[Source 2018][More on Human Rights]
The 2019 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 200 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world from the Agricultural Products, Apparel, Extractives and ICT Manufacturing sectors on 100 human rights indicators. This company's score was in the 50-60 band range. The overall average score was a disappointing 24%.
[Source 2019][More on Human Rights]
The Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge (Transparency Pledge) helps demonstrate apparel and footwear companies' commitment towards greater transparency in their manufacturing supply chain. Transparency of a company's manufacturing supply chain better enables a company to collaborate with civil society in identifying, assessing, and avoiding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts. This is a critical step that strengthens a company's human rights due diligence. This company is fully aligned with the Transparency Pledge, thereby committing to regularly publish on its website a list naming all sites that manufacture its products.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting]
The 2019 Fashion Transparency Index looks at how much brands know about their supply chains, what kind of policies they have in place and importantly, how much information they share with the public about their practices and products. Brands owned by this company scored 31%, signifying it is publishing suppliers lists as well as detailed information about their policies, procedures, social and environmental goals, supplier assessment and remediation processes, and is more likely to be addressing issues such as living wages and collective bargaining. The average score was 21% and the highest score was 64%.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting] |
A 2015 report by the US Labor Department named seven manufacturing factories in Honduras it found to have labor rights violations. The report found that workers in Honduras weren't adequately afforded the right to associate, to organize and bargain collectively; the minimum employment age for the employment of children and prohibition of the worst forms of child labor wasn't properly enforced, nor were acceptable working conditions with respect to minimum wages, hours worked and occupational health and safety. Hanesbrands, which operates 11 factories in Honduras, established agreements between management and non-unionized workers, that according to the Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA), included anti-union clauses and noted dismissals of workers trying to form a union.
[Source 2015][More on Workers Rights]
This company received a score of 28.6/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting]
Rank a Brand searches the websites of brands for the answers to carefully targeted questions. From this they calculate sustainability scores based on the themes of environment, climate, labor issues, and transparency. Brands owned by this company received an 'E', the lowest possible score.
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting]
In 2016 Rank a Brand assessed 37 major cotton-using companies on their commitment and performance with regard to sustainable cotton by looking at each company's cotton sourcing policies, use of sustainable cotton, and traceability. This company scored 2/19.5, making it one of the weaker performing companies.
[Source 2016][More on Human Rights]
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 41% (Minimal).
[Source 2019][More on Human Rights]
This company received a SAM ESG Score of 23/100 in the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting] |
This investigative report by China Labour Watch reveals poor work conditions for Chinese workers making products for this company, such as workers being required to work nine hours per day as regular hours in addition to five to six hours of mandatory overtime during peak season which accumulates to 14 work hours per day, about 420 hours per month. [Listed under information due to age of report]
[Source 2007][More on Workers Rights]
This 2011 report by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights reveals how scores of young Sri Lankan women sewing clothing for Walmart and Hanes at a garment factory in Jordan have suffered routine sexual abuse and repeated rapes, and in some cases even torture. In addition to this workers are housed in bed bug infested dorms lacking heat or hot water, and had been routinely beaten, underpaid and forced to work excessive hours.[Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2011][More on Workers Rights]
This 2010 investigative report by the Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights reveals systematic gross violations of human and worker rights in Jordanian sweatshops operated by Classic Fashion Apparel. Wal-Mart, Hanesbrands, Macy's, Russell, and Fruit of the Loom are among their customers. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2010][More on Workers Rights]
Named in the International Labor Rights Forum's "Sweatshop Hall of Shame 2010", which highlights apparel and textile companies that use sweatshops in their global production. [Listed under Information due to age or report]
[Source 2010][More on Workers Rights]
This 2013 report by the Workers Rights Consortium reveals that the majority of Haitian garment workers are being denied nearly a third of the wages they are legally due as a result of the factories' theft of their income. Wages for garment industry workers in Haiti are already among the lowest in the world. This company was named as being complicit in this wage theft.[Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2013][More on Workers Rights]
This 2011 report by the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) examined working conditions in 83 factories in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Investigations found that widespread violations and abuses of workers' rights continue to be the norm, such as underpaying workers, long hours, forced overtime, and repression of the freedom of association. This company's brands were found to be made in one or more of the 83 factories covered in the research. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2011][More on Workers rights]
When joining the Fair Labor Association (FLA) this company committed to promoting and complying with international labor standards throughout their supply chain. The FLA does not accredit the company itself; rather, they accredit the company's labor compliance program. Being granted accreditation implies that their workplace standards program is substantially in compliance with the FLA Code.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]
This 2010 report by As You Sow, "Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs", provides a scorecard and report focus on company programs such as: factory auditing, remediation, continuous improvement, collaboration, company management accountability, and transparency. This company received a B rating. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2010][More on Workers Rights]
This company has a website dedicated to its extensive corporate responsibility claims covering environmental responsibility, social responsibility, and governance.
[Source 2016][More on Sustainability Reporting]
This company is a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in March 2011 by a group of global apparel and footwear companies and non-profit organizations (representing nearly one third of the global market share for apparel and footwear). The Coalition's goals are to reduce the apparel industry's environmental and social impact, and to develop a universal index to measure environmental and social performance of apparel products.
[Source 2020][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
This company is a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. They develop transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
This company is a member of How2Recycle. The How2Recycle Label is a voluntary, standardized labeling system that clearly communicates recycling instructions to the public. It involves a coalition of forward thinking brands who want their packaging to be recycled and are empowering consumers through smart packaging labels. Companies must be a member of the program to use the How2Recycle Label.
[Source 2020][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
[Source 2016][More on Human Rights]
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
[Source 2014] |
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Company Details
| Company Structure | Wholly-owned subsidiary |
| # Employees | 1500+ in 2016 |
Contact Details
| Address | Level 2, Building 1, 75-85 O'Riordan St, Alexandria, NSW, 2015, Australia |
| Freecall | 1800 810 031 |
| customers@brasnthings.com | |
| Website | www.brasnthings.com |
Products / Brands
Bras N Things|
Bras N Things Intimate Apparel |
