• Browse by: category | company | brand | product type  
  • HOME
  • THE GUIDE
  • ISSUES
  • GET INFORMED
  • GET INVOLVED
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT US
  • All  |
  • Baby  |
  • Clothing  |
  • Food & Drink  |
  • Household  |
  • Office Supplies  |
  • Personal Care  |
  • Pet  |
  • Retail  |
  • Technology  |
  • Toys
  • |  Print Guide  |
  • App
  • Clothing  |
  • Electronics  |
  • Food & Drink  |
  • Household & Personal Care
  • Issues  |
  • New! Clothing  |
  • Why Shop Ethically?  |
  • 5 Principles  |
  • Companies to avoid  |
  • News  |
  • Sign Up for Updates
  • Go ethical at school, work, home  |
  • Campaign  |
  • Spread the Word  |
  • Volunteer  |
  • Workshops  |
  • Movie Nights  |
  • Fundraising
  • All Products  |
  • Shop Ethical! app  |
  • Shop Ethical! book  |
  • Stockists  |
  • Other books  |
  • Fregie sacks  |
  • FREE STUFF!  |
  • DONATE
  • Introduction  |
  • About Us  |
  • Ratings & Assessment  |
  • Media Mentions  |
  • Testimonials  |
  • FAQ

Benetton

OVERALL

Owned
ITA
Rating
Praises, some criticism

Clothing

Italy's largest clothing maker. Its products sell in about 120 countries. Controlled by the founding Benetton family.

Company Ownership

Benetton Group SRL   ITA     website      facebook   
  Edizione SRL   
   owns 100% of Benetton Group SRL  
ITA     website   email      

Holding company

Large European holding company controlled by the Benetton family, with investments in transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, real estate and agriculture, food and beverages, clothing and textiles, and finance.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Benetton Group SRL
Business Ethics 63/100 in Fashion Transparency Index
The 2022 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 63%, signifying that it is publishing detailed supplier lists and the vast majority of policies, procedures and future goals. The average score was 24% and the highest score was 78%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2022)
Social 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)
Social 40.3% in Sustainable Cotton Ranking
The 2020 Sustainable Cotton Ranking, published by WWF, Solidaridad and the Pesticide Action Network UK analysed the 77 largest cotton users among international apparel brands and retailers, reviewing their policies, actual uptake of more sustainable cotton and transparency in their supply chains. According to the report, this company is "well on the way" with a score of 40.3%. The average score was 18.2% and the highest score was 79.2%.
Source: Sustainable Cotton Ranking (2020)
Business Ethics 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)
Environment Supply chain practices in China
This company received a score of 5.8/100 (retrieved 10-Oct-2020) in the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI), a system for evaluating supply chain practices in China, particularly in regards to environmental management and water pollution. Scores are calculated using government compliance data, online monitoring data, and third-party environmental audits, as well as trends in the environmental performance of factories in the company's supply chains.
Source: IPE (2020)
Social Workers rights in India
Female migrants employed in garment factories in Bangalore, India are recruited with false promises about wages and benefits, and are subjected to conditions of modern slavery. They work under high-pressure for low wages, and live in hostels with poor living conditions while their freedom of movement is severely restricted. This company was identified in the 2018 report "Labour Without Liberty" as sourcing garments from these factories.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2018)
Environment 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 (2019)
Environment Detox progress
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 "ahead of the curve and on track to meet their commitments".
Source: Greenpeace (2016)
Social Sandblasting
This company has publicly banned sandblasting. Sandblasting is a dangerous and deadly process which involves workers firing sand at jeans under high pressure. It has been known to kill workers within months as the inhalation of large amounts of silica dust generated during sandblasting causes silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2012)
Animals Fur free
This company has announced that they don't sell animal fur or are phasing in a fur-free policy.
Source: Humane Society (2019)
Animals 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)
Business Ethics Better Cotton Initiative member
This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary initiative 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)
Business Ethics 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 (2020)
Business Ethics Materials sourcing
The Material Change Index (MCI) is a voluntary benchmark that tracks the apparel and textiles sector's progress toward more sustainable materials sourcing (cotton, polyester, nylon, manmade cellulosics, wool, down and leather), as well as alignment with global efforts like the Sustainable Development Goals and the transition to a circular economy. This company was rated "Maturing", the second highest performance band.
Source: Textile Exchange (2020)
Social 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)
Edizione SRL
Business Ethics Benetton Foundation
The Benetton Foundation began in 1987 and carries out research in the huge field of landscape and the study of places, the history and culture of games and in cultural heritage, with the cooperation of scientific committees composed of experts active around the world.
Source: company website (2021)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Founded 1965
Revenue 1.1 billion EUR (2019)
Employees 1,500 (2019)

Contact Details

Address Treviso, Italy
Website www.benetton.com

Products / Brands

Benetton
United Colors of Benetton Menswear (casual)
United Colors of Benetton Womens Fashion
United Colors of Benetton Childrenswear


  • About Us

    • Introduction
    • About Shop Ethical!
    • About ECG
    • About the Ratings
    • Assessment sources
    • Shop Ethical! database
    • Shop Ethical! book
    • Shop Ethical! app
    • Contact us
    • FAQ

    • Copyright
    • Privacy
    • Disclaimer
  • Get Informed

    • ISSUES
    • GET INFORMED
    • Electronics Guide
    • Clothing Guide
    • Values Screen
    • Why Shop Ethically?
    • 5 Principles
    • Be Inspired
    • Calendar
    • Local Harvest
  • Get Involved

    • GET INVOLVED
    • Go Ethical at school,
      work, home, church
    • Run a workshop or tour
    • Host a movie night
    • Spread the word
    • Resources
    • Volunteer
    • Support us
  • Connect

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Suggest brand/company
    • Report an error
    • Give feedback
    • Sign up for updates
    • Past newsletters
    • >>DONATE<<

    • GET the GUIDE
        • App Store
        • Google Play
        • buy our book