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ICON DECODER

COMPANY RATINGS
Praises, no criticism
Some praise, no criticism
No rating
Praises, some criticism
Criticism, some praise
Criticisms

Note: Ratings are based on company record, including parent companies. They are not a comment on the product itself.
> more about ratings

OTHER ICONS
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Luxury Brands

The Guide > Clothing > Fashion > Luxury Brands 

Transparency

There is little or no transparency on the conditions behind common processes in most supply chains in the clothing industry. Baptist World Aid and Not For Sale's 2013 document, The Australian Fashion Report, identified that out of 128 clothing brands, 61% of companies do not know where their garments are manufactured; 76% not know where their garments are weaved, knitted and dyed; and 93% do not know where their cotton is sourced from.

[Please note the ratings in our guide indicate praises or criticisms in one or more issue areas in the ownership tree, but not necessarily the area of labour conditions. For many companies we don't have any information about the conditions their clothes are made under. We don't automatically allocate criticisms to companies for this, even though it is quite likely the company is sourcing from overseas sweatshops.]
  • See the Clothing: Alternatives table on our website for alternative retailers and brands with positive features such as Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation, Fairtrade certification, and use of sustainable materials.  [Alternatives]
  • See Ethical Clothing Australia's list of accredited brands here  [ECA]
  • Download the Australian Fashion Report  [BehindtheBarcode]
  • Find out more about supply-chain transparency and best-practice labelling on our website  [Supply-chain transparency]

Sweatshops

There is little transparency as to which clothing items are made by workers who are paid fairly and which clothes are made in sweatshop conditions. Modern-day slavery, which currently affects more than 30 million people, is used throughout the production of many clothing products sold on Australian shelves.

WORKING HOURS. Long working hours and forced overtime are a major concern among garment workers. Factory managers typically push employees to work between 10 and 12 hours, sometimes 16 to 18 hours a day. A seven-day working week is becoming the norm during the peak season, particularly in China, despite limits placed by the law.

WAGES. The majority of workers in the global fashion industry, rarely earn more than two dollars a day. Many have to work excessive hours for this meagre amount and struggle to properly feed, clothe and educate their families. The problem is complicated further when the millions of piece- rate workers and homeworkers within the industry are considered. When workers are paid by the number of garments they produce, rather than the number of hours they work, it becomes near-impossible to earn a living wage during a working week.

Women in El Salvador are paid just 29 cents for each $140 Nike NBA jersey they sew. To pay them a living wage, they would earn 58 cents per shirts, 4/10ths of one percent of the retail cost of the shirt.  [Labour Behind the Label]
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about labour exploitation in the apparel sector  [ethical.org.au/issues]
  • Buy second-hand clothes, or support local clothing brands which are accredited by   [Ethical Clothing Australia]
  • See the Simple Plan and MTV EXIT video for 'This Song Saved My Life'  [MTVexit]
  • See 'Behind the Swoosh' documentary and more about the fight against Nike's sweatshops at www.teamsweat.org   [Behind the Swoosh]
  • See the Ethical Fashion Report, published by the Behind the Barcode project.  [Ethical Fashion Guide]

Fur

An average of 40 animals is required to make one fur coat. Whether the animal is trapped in the wild, bludgeoned on an ice floe, or bred on a factory farm, fur represents death and suffering.   [Fur trade facts]
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about fur exploitation  [www.ethical.org.au/issues]
  • Remind any fur-wearing friends that it's not cool!
  • Check Animals Australia Fur Free Shopping List for retailers and designers with fur-free policies   [Animals Australia]
  • Be alert! More and more real fur is 'hidden' in mainstream clothes as trim or lining. Test before you buy.  [The Fur Test]
  • Take the Animals Australia Pledge to be Fur Free!  [The Pledge]

Mulesing

Mulesing is the practice of cutting the skin from the buttocks of lambs to produce a scar, which is done in response to the problem of 'flystrike'. Blowflys lay eggs in the skin of the sheep which hatch into larvae and feed on the sheep's tissue - resulting in the painful death of around 3 million sheep each year. Mulesing is a controversial practice, as it is done without anesthetic. After international campaigns by animal activist groups and the threatened boycott of Australian wool by European retailers, the Australian Wool Industry stated it would phase out mulesing but has since scrapped this earlier promise.
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about mulesing  [ethical.org.au/issues]
  • If you choose to buy wool products, ask the retailer whether the wool is ethically sourced from sheep that are not mulesed.
  • Find brands and retailers specialising in supplying wool certified as non-mulesed, such as NewMerinos, Plevna Downs and Merino Company.
  • See Alternatives to Wool at the Animals Australia Unleashed Faux Shopping Guide  [Unleashed]
  • Find out more about this difficult issue  [Animals Australia]

Uzbek Cotton

Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest exprters of cotton. For decades, Uzbekistan has forced adults and children as young as 10 to pick cotton under appalling conditions each harvest season. The human rights concerns surrounding Uzbek cotton production has lead to a 'call for a boycott' of Uzbek cotton from Uzbek and international activists. Around 70 per cent of Uzbekistan cotton is sold to Bangladesh and China, where it is turned into fabric to be used in clothes, sheets and other cotton products to be sold into countries such as Australia.

There are 14 countries where cotton is produced using child labour. Child workers in the cottonseed industry are often in a state of debt bondage and work at least nine hours a day. Pesticides used during production cause health problems for the children and they report experiencing headaches, convulsions and respiratory problems. The long-term effects of exposure to toxic chemicals have not been measured.  [ILRF]
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about child labour in cotton production  [www.ethical.org.au/issues]
  • See where cotton is produced using child labour.   [Products of Slavery map]
  • Watch White Gold - the true cost of cotton (video)  [White Gold]
  • See companies who have signed the Pledge against using products that have cotton from Uzbekistan.  [Responsible Sourcing Network]

Cotton & Pesticides

Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop. (A global spend of $2.6 billion each year). This is more than 10 per cent of the world's pesticides and nearly 25 per cent of the world's insecticides. Many of these are the most hazardous pesticides on the market including aldicarb, phorate, methamidophos and endosulfan. These pesticides can poison farm workers, drift into neighboring communities, contaminate ground and surface water and kill beneficial insects and soil micro-organisms.   [Pesticide Action Network UK]
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about organic cotton  [www.ethical.org.au/issues]
  • See 'Pesticides Commonly Used on Cotton' factsheet  [Pesticides Commonly Used on Cotton]
  • Find out about the Better Cotton Initative  [Better Cotton Initative]
  • Look for organic cotton products from brands like Certton, Blessed Earth, Organic Embrace and Gaia Organic.

Sandblasting

Sandblasting is what gives your jeans the worn-out look. Under the sandblasting process the denim is smoothed, shaped and cleaned by forcing abrasive particles across it at high speeds. This fashion however comes at a price: the health and even the lives of sandblasting workers.

Sandblasting causes silicosis which the World Health Organization states leads to lung fibrosis and emphysema. In later stages the critical condition can become disabling and is often fatal.

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation launched its campaign to eliminate the use of sandblasting in the garment industry in 2009. In 2010 both Levi's and H&M jointly decided to eliminate the process from their supply chains representing a major breakthrough in the campaign.
  • See Clean Clothes Campaign's Deadly Denim report which investigates nine Bangladeshi factories   [Clean Clothes Campaign]
  • See Fair Wear Foundation's updated guidelines on Sandblasting   [FWF guidelines on abrasive blasting]
  • Read more about sandblasting at The Lancet  [The Lancet]
BRAND COMPANY OWNED RATING
Stella McCartney  Stella McCartney   UK  Praises, no criticism1
Alexander McQueen  Alexander McQueen   (Kering) FRA  Praises, some criticism4
Burberry  Burberry   UK  Praises, some criticism4
Hugo Boss  Hugo Boss   GER  Praises, some criticism4
Balenciaga  Kering Luxury   (Kering) FRA  Praises, some criticism4
Bottega Veneta  Kering Luxury   (Kering) FRA  Praises, some criticism4
Gucci  Kering Luxury   (Kering) FRA  Praises, some criticism4
Saint Laurent  Kering Luxury   (Kering) FRA  Praises, some criticism4
Calvin Klein  PVH Brands Australia   (PVH) USA  Praises, some criticism4
D & G  Dolce & Gabbana   ITA  Criticism, some praise5
Dolce & Gabbana  Dolce & Gabbana   ITA  Criticism, some praise5
Hermes  Hermes   FRA  Criticism, some praise5
Viktor & Rolf  Viktor & Rolf   (OTB) ITA  Criticism, some praise5
Emporio Armani  Armani   ITA  Criticisms6
Giorgio Armani  Armani   ITA  Criticisms6
Bulgari  Bulgari   (LVMH) FRA  Criticisms6
Jimmy Choo  Capri   USA  Criticisms6
Michael Kors  Capri   USA  Criticisms6
Versace  Capri   USA  Criticisms6
Chanel  Chanel Australia   (Chanel) FRA  Criticisms6
Dior  Christian Dior   (LVMH) FRA  Criticisms6
DKNY  DKNY   (G-III) USA  Criticisms6
Donna Karan  DKNY   (G-III) USA  Criticisms6
Fendi  LVMH   FRA  Criticisms6
Givenchy  LVMH   FRA  Criticisms6
Kenzo  LVMH   FRA  Criticisms6
Louis Vitton  LVMH   FRA  Criticisms6
Marc Jacobs  LVMH   FRA  Criticisms6
Pierre Cardin  Pierre Cardin   FRA  Criticisms6
Miu Miu  Prada   ITA  Criticisms6
Prada  Prada   ITA  Criticisms6
Ralph Lauren  Ralph Lauren   USA  Criticisms6
Cartier  Richemont   SWI  Criticisms6
Chloe  Richemont   SWI  Criticisms6
Coach  Tapestry   USA  Criticisms6
Kate Spade  Tapestry   USA  Criticisms6
Tiffany  Tiffany & Co   (LVMH) FRA  Criticisms6
Valentino  Valentino   (Mayhoola) QAT  Criticisms6



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