Topshop

OVERALL
Owned	UK
Rating

Clothing retailer

Founded 1964. Women's and men's clothing online and through 500 stores in more than 30 countries. In 2012 Topshop owner Philip Green sold a 25% stake to US private equity group Leonard Green and Partners.

Company Ownership


Top Shop/Top Man Ltd	UK	website		facebook	twitter
Arcadia Group Ltd owns 75% of Top Shop/Top Man Ltd	UK	website			twitter
Fashion retail Owned by UK retailing magnate Sir Philip Green.
Leonard Green & Partners LP owns 25% of Top Shop/Top Man Ltd	USA	website	email
Private equity firm Founded in 1989. As of 2007 has US$9 billion in assets.

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Company Assessment

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CRITICISM

INFORMATION

Top Shop/Top Man Ltd

Workers rights

Oxfam Australia's 2016 Naughty or Nice list ranks the biggest and most popular clothing brands on what they are actually doing to protect and support the women making our clothes, especially on whether brands are bold enough to bring the list of factories that make their clothes out of hiding. This company has been dubbed 'Naughty', as they have not published a list of their supplier factories.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]

Underpaid contract cleaners in UK

Topshop uses contracted cleaners, who say their wages don't cover rent and food, and are calling for fairer pay. In 2016 the fashion chain removed document supporting living wage from its website after an inquiry by The Guardian.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]

Angora ban

This company has taken angora items off the shelves and promised not to use angora again, following a PETA campaign launched in Dec 2013 which revealed the cruelty inflicted on angora rabbits in Chinese factory farms, where 90% of the world's angora is produced.
[Source 2018][More on Animal Rights]

ACT participant

This company is a participant in the Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) initiative, an initiative between international brands and retailers, manufacturers, and trade unions to address the issue of living wages in the textile and garment supply chain.
[Source 2018][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

Arcadia Group Ltd

Bangladesh Safety Accord signatory

This company has signed the 'Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh', a program endorsed by Bangladeshi and international unions and labor rights organizations. The ground-breaking program includes independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory factory building renovations, the obligation by brands and retailers to underwrite the cost of repairs, and a vital role for workers and their unions all in a legally-binding, enforceable agreement.
[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]

Child labour scorecard

This website by German NGO Earth Link rates companies on their corporate policies against child labour, production monitoring and accusations of child labour. This company received at least one red mark, indicating poor performance in one or more of these areas.
[Source 2013][More on Human Rights]

Sued for $5 million

Pop singer Rihanna won a legal battle with this company in July 2013 over a T-shirt image sold through the Topshop chain. She sued Arcadia in the London High Court for US$5million as her image had been used without her approval.
[Source 2013][More on Finance]

Tax avoidance

Arcadia Group has been targeted by tax avoidance protesters UK Uncut. Rather than being registered as Sir Philip Green's (the public face of the brand), the company is registered under the name of his wife, Tina, who lives in 0% income tax zone Monaco. In 2005 Philip Green awarded himself 1.2bn pounds, the biggest paycheck in British corporate history.
[Source 2012][More on Finance]

CanopyStyle member

This company is a member of the CanopyStyle initiative, which came about when research found that millions of trees are used every year to produce dissolving pulp, a key ingredient for fabrics such as rayon/viscose. The campaign seeks to phase out the use of endangered forest fibre in fabric.
[Source 2018][More on Forests]

Fur free

This company has announced that they don't sell animal fur or are phasing in a fur-free policy.
[Source 2014][More on Animal Rights]

Fashion Footprint claims

Follow the link to see details on Ardadia Group's Fashion Footprint programme, which claims to "monitor and manage the social and environmental impacts of our business, providing a focus and framework for our activities".
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting]

ACT participant

SCAP signatory

This company is a signatory to WRAP's Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP). Signatories commit to a set of principles that work towards reaching the SCAP 2020 Targets to improve the sustainability of clothing across its life cycle by working collaboratively with industry, government and the third sector.
[Source 2017][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

Transparency Pledge

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 has not committed to the Transparency Pledge, but will begin publishing supplier factory information in 2017.
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting]

C+ grade in 2018 Ethical Fashion Report

C+ grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's 'Ethical Fashion Report 2018', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour, and exploitation in their supply chains. Assessment criteria fall into four main categories: policies, knowing suppliers, auditing and supplier relationships, and worker empowerment.
[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]

Efforts to pay a living wage

This company mentions work on living wages, but their solutions are unconvincing so far, according to this 2014 report by the Clean Clothes Campaign which grades companies on their efforts to ensure workers in its supply chain receive a living wage.
[Source 2014][More on Workers Rights]

26/100 in Fashion Transparency Index

The 2018 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. This company scored 26%, signifying it is doing a bit more than the others when it comes to having policies and commitments in place and auditing and reporting activities, but could be doing more. The average score was 21% and the highest score was 58%.
[Source 2018][More on Sustainability Reporting]