Policy ≠ Action: How far has fashion really come?

Seven years ago today, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1134 people and injuring many more. The disaster sparked an outcry for greater transparency and accountability in fashion – but how far have we really come?

 Fashion Revolution has released the 2020 Fashion Transparency Index, a “review of the 250 biggest global fashion brands and retailers ranked according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts”.

 The index shows some positive improvements. The overall average score on the index is up 3% since 2019 and 12% since 2017, and the highest score has jumped by 9% this year. Although these improvements are a great sign that transparency in the fashion industry is improving, a deeper diver into the results of the Index finds huge gaps in accountability and tangible action.

 One example of this is Gucci’s ranking in the Index. The company received a score of 100% in both the Policy and Commitments and Governance sections of the Index, but when looking more closely at traceability and measurable actions taken by the fashion giant, actual progress was lacking. The traceability of Gucci’s supply chain, measured on availability of manufacturer details, processing facilities and raw material suppliers, received a score of only 13%. Seeing this disparity when it comes to true accountability and action, one has to ask if having policies in place is really a factor at all when it comes to actual impact on workers in the supply chain.

 Does policy ever really equate to action?

 Similar trends can also be seen in other brands, particularly high fashion giants like Balenciaga and Saint Laurent. It seems that high fashion is lagging behind other brands when it comes to accountability. This raises the question of whether true transparency, allowing consumers to see the profit margins of these luxury brands, would undermine their value. If luxury is cheap, is it worth the markup? Could fear of damaging the unattainable and elusive image of these luxury brands be the reason we aren’t seeing more action?

 This isn’t to undermine the work being done. Transparency is definitely a step along the way to improving the lives of workers in textiles supply chains, but policies, commitments, supplier lists and ‘a zero tolerance approach’ to modern slavery doesn’t really mean anything without on the ground action.

 According to the ‘Know, Show and Fix’ analysis in the Index, only 11% of brands are reporting on risks identified and prioritised in their supply chain. The blanket approach of many of the policies and commitments published by these brands allows for specific issues to be brushed aside, and the nuances of supply chain risk to be simplified.

 When it comes to addressing and resolving grievances discovered through assessments and audits, only 16% of brands provide published data on the number of complaints reported and remediated.

 Diving deeper into how brands address specific issues of conditions, consumption, composition and climate, it’s clear that very little action is being taken. Less than 1% of brands publish the number of workers in their supply chain being paid a living wage, and less than 13% publish data on violations in supplier facilities related to modern slavery. The index highlighted that 92% of brands have published supplier policies on forced and bonded labour, but forbidding a practice on paper means very little if violations aren’t reported.

It’s clear that public pressure has pushed the textiles industry towards greater transparency in supply chains, but policies alone cannot prevent tragedies like Rana Plaza from occurring again.

Putting a Band-Aid on a gash may help it heal a bit faster, but it also makes it harder to see the infection beneath.

Written by Teya Duncan for SD Strategies