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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
Australian Owned
Outstanding Product Feature
Industry Alert

Issues

What do you value?
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> See all
 

Categories

What do you buy?
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> See all

Sports Shoes

The Guide > Clothing > Footwear > Sports Shoes 

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]

Leather

The global leather industry slaughters more than one billion animals for their skins each year. Leather commonly comes from cattle and calves, and from other animals slaughtered for meat such as horses, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs. Wild animals are also hunted for their skins. Kangaroos can also be commercially shot purely for their skins in Western Australia and Queensland (skin-only commercial hunting is banned in other Australian jurisdictions). Other species hunted worldwide for their skins include zebras, boars, elephants, crocodiles, and lizards.

Additionally, the modern process of tanning, involves toxic substances and pollutants.  [Animal Liberation]
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about leather  [ethical.org.au/issues]
  • There are many alternatives to leather, including cotton, linen, rubber, ramie, canvas, and synthetics.   [PETA]
  • See Alternatives to Leather at the Animals Australia Unleashed Faux Shopping Guide  [Unleashed]
  • Look for polyurethane-based materials rather than PVC. PVC is not degradable, involves production using toxic additives and emits carcinogenic dioxin when incinerated.

Outworkers in Australia

In Australia, the use of home-based outworkers in the cut make and trim stage of production is common. The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia estimate that 50-70% of clothing made in Australia is outsourced, usually to migrant women working at home or in backyard sweatshops.

Long supply chains mean designers and clothing labels contract work out to factories, who subcontract work out to other factories, backyard sweatshops or outworkers. Often outworkers receive payment and conditions significantly below their award and statutory entitlements. Outworkers are almost always paid in piece rates, usually equating to $5-8 an hour, but sometimes as little as $3 an hour. The low rates of pay that outworkers receive, combined with routinely short deadlines, results in many outworkers having to work extremely long hours, sometimes around the clock, or 7 days a week.
  • Check out the Issues section of our website for more about outworkers in Australia  [ethical.org.au/issues]
  • Learn more about outworkers in Australia and take action at   [Ethical Clothing Australia]
  • Support Ethical Clothing Australia accredited businesses who have taken practical steps to keep their Australian-based supply chains transparent and ensure that they and any sub-contractors are compliant with the relevant Australian laws.  [Ethical Clothing Australia]
BRAND COMPANY OWNED RATING
Etiko certified Fairtrade FSC certified latex certified Fairtrade FSC certified latex Etiko Fair Trade   Australian Owned  Praises, no criticism1
Newton  Newton Running   USA  No rating3
KT26  Designworks   (LK Group)
Brand Owner: IBML  
Australian Owned  Praises, some criticism4
Adidas  adidas Australia   (Adidas) GER  Praises, some criticism4
Five Ten  adidas Australia   (Adidas) GER  Praises, some criticism4
Asics  Asics Oceania   (ASICS) JPN  Praises, some criticism4
Onitsuka Tiger  Asics Oceania   (ASICS) JPN  Praises, some criticism4
Champion  Hanes Australasia   (Hanesbrands) USA  Praises, some criticism4
New Balance  New Balance Australia   (New Balance) USA  Praises, some criticism4
Converse  Nike Australia   (Nike) USA  Praises, some criticism4
Jordan  Nike Australia   (Nike) USA  Praises, some criticism4
Nike  Nike Australia   (Nike) USA  Praises, some criticism4
Puma   Puma Australia   (Puma) GER  Praises, some criticism4
Altra  VF   USA  Praises, some criticism4
Reebok  Brand Collective   (LK Group)
Brand Owner: Authentic Brands Group  
Australian Owned  Criticism, some praise5
Volley  Brand Collective   (LK Group) Australian Owned  Criticism, some praise5
Diadora  Diadora   (Geox)
Marketing & Distribution: Overland Group  
ITA  Criticism, some praise5
Mitre  Mitre Sports   (Pentland) UK  Criticism, some praise5
Mizuno  Mizuno   JPN  Criticism, some praise5
Salomon  Amer Sports Australia   (Anta Sports) CHN  Criticisms6
Brooks   Brooks Sports   (Berkshire Hathaway) USA  Criticisms6
Columbia   Columbia Sportswear   USA  Criticisms6
Fila   Fila Korea   KOR  Criticisms6
Lotto  Lotto Sport   ITA  Criticisms6
Spalding  Russell Australia   (Berkshire Hathaway) USA  Criticisms6
Skechers  Skechers   USA  Criticisms6
Under Armour  Under Armour   USA  Criticisms6
Merrell  Wolverine Worldwide  
Distributor: Accent Group  
USA  Criticisms6
Saucony  Wolverine Worldwide  
Distributor: Accent Group  
USA  Criticisms6
Sperry  Wolverine Worldwide   USA  Criticisms6



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