Ralph Lauren

Polo Ralph Lauren was involved in the notorious Saipan sweatshop case where 30,000 garment workers on US territory were abused over the course of ten years.
[Source 2004][More on Workers Rights]

Maid in India', a 2012 report by two Dutch NGOs (SOMO and ICN) revealed how workers in the South Indian garment and textile industry continue to suffer exploitative working conditions while making garments for Western brands. While some recent improvements have been made, thousands of girls work under recruitment and employment schemes that amount to bonded labour. This company was shown to be sourcing from one or more of the four garment manufacturers investigated, and failed to respond to a review request. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
[Source 2012][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]

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 reponded to a letter by the coalition.
[Source 2017][More on Sustainability Reporting]

As You Sow's 2019 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, Patrice Louvet came in at number 27 on the list, having been paid US$23,792,036 in 2018. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
[Source 2019][More on Finance]

This company is listed on the EPA Green Power Partnership website (USA), as using renewable energy for 10% of its organisation-wide electricity use in the USA.
[Source 2016][More on Climate Change]

This company has announced that they don't sell animal fur or are phasing in a fur-free policy.
[Source 2019][More on Animal Rights]

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]

The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation supports initiatives in cancer care, education and service in underserved communities. Ralph Lauren engages in a number of philanthropic initiatives, some of which are highlighted at the link below.
[Source 2016][More on Finance]

This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

This company's subsidiary, Palph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Co, is a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). Certification under the RJC system demonstrates that the Member's business practices conform to RJC's Code of Practices for business ethics, human rights, social and environmental performance.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

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 2019][More on Workers Rights]

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 2015][More on Human Rights]

Ralph Lauren issued a statement making its decision to go fur-free official in 2006 after a series of meetings with PETA during which executives viewed grisly undercover video footage of fur farms in China, where more than half the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States are sourced.
[Source 2006][More on Animal Rights]

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 21%, 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 64%.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting]