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.

Company Ownership


Top Shop/Top Man Ltd	UK	website	facebook	twitter
Arcadia Group Ltd owns 100% of Top Shop/Top Man Ltd	UK	website		twitter
Fashion retail Owned by UK retailing magnate Sir Philip Green. Collapsed into administration in Dec 2020.

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Company Assessment

PRAISE

CRITICISM

INFORMATION

Top Shop/Top Man Ltd

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: The Guardian (2016)

PETA-Approved Vegan

This company uses the "PETA-Approved Vegan" logo on some of its clothing, accessories, furniture, or home decor items made of vegan alternatives to animal-derived materials such as leather, fur, silk, feathers, or bone.
Source: PETA (2020)

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: PETA (2018)

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: HiiL (2018)

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: Bangladesh Accord (2019)

38/100 in Fashion Transparency Index

The 2020 Fashion Transparency Index reviewed 250 of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Brands owned by this company scored 38%, 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 23% and the highest score was 73%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2020)

Efforts to pay a living wage

The Clean Clothes Campaign report, Tailored Wages 2019 analyses responses from 32 top clothing brands about their progress in implementing a living wage for the workers who produce their clothes. This company received the lowest possible grade in the report, meaning they produced no evidence that any worker making their clothes was paid a living wage anywhere in the world.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2019)

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: BBC News (2013)

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: news article (2012)

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: Canopy (2018)

Fur free retailer

This retailer has committed to being a fur free retailer, as recognised by the International Fur Free Retailer Program.
Source: Fur Free Retailer (2019)

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: company website (2017)

ACT participant

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 published some supplier factory information, but falls short of the Pledge standard.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2019)

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: WRAP (2017)

C+ grade in 2019 Ethical Fashion Report

C+ 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: Baptist World Aid Australia (2019)

Modern Slavery statement

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: Modern Slavery Registry (2017)

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Company Details

Type	Private company
Revenue	991 million GBP in 2016
Subsidiaries	Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd (50% owned) Women's activewear Co-founded by Beyonce Knowles (American recording artist) and Philip Green (owner of fashion retailer Toyshop) as a joint venture company in 2014. Commenced sales April 2016.

Contact Details

Address	London, United Kingdom
Website	www.topshop.com

Products / Brands

Topshop

Topman Menswear (casual)
Topshop Womens Fashion

Ivy Park (50% owned)

Ivy Park Activewear

Topshop

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