G-Star Raw

OVERALL
Owned	USA
Rating

Designer clothing

G-Star Raw est 1989. G-Star Raw is a Dutch designer clothing company providing fashionable urban clothes. More than 6000 selling points worldwide. Many denim firsts - luxury, raw, denim construction. Toys R Us parent company WHP Global acquired a majority stake in 2023.

Company Ownership


G-Star International BV	NLD	website	email
WHP Global owns 51% of G-Star International BV	USA	website	email
Investment firm Founded in 2019 by retail industry veteran Yehuda Shmidman in partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, acquires global consumer brands such as Anne Klein, Toys R Us, Lotto and G-Star Raw.

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G-Star International BV

International Accord signatory

This company is a signatory to the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry. The International Accord was established in 2021 as the successor to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which was established in 2013 in the wake of the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,000 workers and seriously injured thousands more. Company signatories to the International Accord commit to: Disclosing all factories producing for them in countries with International Accord programs; Ensuring all listed factories participate in the inspection, remediation, and safety training programs; Supporting factories to ensure remediation is financially feasible; Contributing to the operational costs of International Accord programs. This company has also signed the Pakistan Accord.
Source: International Accord (2023)

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 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: Transparency Pledge (2019)

49/100 in Fashion Transparency Index

The 2023 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 human rights and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Brands owned by this company scored 49%, signifying that it is making significant efforts in the given areas, and has made some or most of this information publicly available. The average score was 26% and the highest score was 83%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2023)

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)

Supply chain practices in China

The Green Supply Chain Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) evaluates consumer-facing companies that have a sizeable supply chain in China. The evaluation uses government supervision data and public information to assess the environmental management of their supply chains in China. This company received a score of 13.58/100 (retrieved 24 Nov 2023).
Source: IPE (2023)

Detox commitment

Greenpeace launched its "Detox My Fashion" campaign in 2011 to expose the direct links between global clothing brands, their suppliers and toxic water pollution around the world. As a result, many companies, including this one, committed to Greenpeace's Detox Program. The 2016 Detox Catwalk report focused on implementation, assessing the steps taken by fashion brands to fulfil their commitments using three criteria: Detox 2020 plan, PFC elimination and Transparency. This company is "committed to Detox and has made progress implementing its plans, but its actions need to evolve faster to achieve the 2020 Detox goal".
Source: Greenpeace (2016)

Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals

In 2011, a group of major apparel and footwear brands and retailers, including this company, made a shared commitment to help lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. It includes specific commitments and timelines to realize this shared goal.
Source: ZDHC (2023)

Cradle to Cradle endorsement

Two G-Star product ranges products are certified by Cradle to Cradle, a multi-attribute eco-label that assesses a product's safety to humans and the environment and design for future life cycles.
Source: c2c (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)

Use of non-mulesed wool

Brands owned by this company are listed in Human Society International Australia's Better Wool Guide as using 100% non-mulesed wool from a robust certification scheme, or has a time-bound commitment to do so. Mulesing is the controversial practice of removing strips of the skin of a lamb's rear and is often done without pain relief. In Australia, the only country where mulesing still occurs, an estimated 10 million merino lambs are subjected to mulesing each year - equivalent to 19 lambs per minute.
Source: HSI Australia (2023)

GSRD Foundation

In 2007, the GSRD Foundation was set up by G-Star with the aim to make a positive impact on communities in the countries where G-Star products are manufactured.
Source: company website (2013)

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)

Textile Exchange member

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: Textile Exchange (2019)

Fashion Charter signatory

This company is a signatory to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, a United Nations initiative which contains the vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Source: UNFCCC (2023)

Corporate responsibility claims

This company has corporate responsibility claims on its website under the headings responsible supply chain, sustainable products and sustainable operations. They publish sustainability reports and detox reports.
Source: company website (2020)

Sustainable Apparel Coalition member

This company is a 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: Sustainable Apparel Coalition (2023)

Better Cotton Initiative member

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: Better Cotton Initiative (2022)

BHRRC company profile

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.
Source: BHRRC (2022)

WHP Global

Backed by Oaktree and BlackRock, who have criticisms

WHP is backed by a $350 million equity commitment from funds managed by Oaktree Capital, with a leverage facility provided to WHP by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. BlackRock has several criticisms and an overall Shop Ethical rating of 'F'. Oaktree Capital is involved with gambling.
Source: Shop Ethical (2021)

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Company Details

Type	Private company
Founded	1989
Subsidiaries	G-Star Australia Pty Ltd Denim clothes Facton Ltd (formerly known as G-star Raw Denim KFT) owns Australian G-Star trademarks. G-Star Australia Pty Ltd is the local distributor for G-Star International BV. Facton Ltd and G-Star Australia Pty Ltd share common directors.

Contact Details

Address	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Email	info@g-star.com
Website	www.g-star.com

Products / Brands

G-Star Australia

G-Star Menswear (casual)
G-Star Denim

G-Star Raw

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