Sustainability in fashion is a hot topic, with brands clamouring to get on board with ensuring sustainable practices are employed in their business. With everything from the supply chain to the packaging now under scrutiny (using organic cotton no longer cuts it, sorry), it’s often hard to pick which brands are using the environment as a marketing tool and which ones are actually following through on eco-conscious claims.
Now, the yearly Ethical Fashion Report has been released, detailing exactly which Australian retailers are talking the talk and walking the walk. Grading 130 companies, the report gives each brand a score, with F being the worst and A+ being the best. Of the 130, only seven received an A+ score.
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Aussie favourites like Outland Denim (which shot to fame last year after Meghan Markle wore a pair of their sustainable jeans while in Australia), Etiko and Mighty Good Undies made the highest cut, as did New Zealand label Kowtow who has made a name for itself as the coolest fashion-girl label this side of the equator.
Other brands that rated in the A category include Cotton On, Country Road, Lululemon, Kookai and Nobody Denim, who all received an A-minus grade. Another notable mention is Inditex, the parent company of Zara, who received an A.
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Rated via a seven-point criteria, including worker living wages, raw materials and final production, the report judges brands based on everything from the people who make their clothes to the way their products are transported to the customer. 17 companies received an F grade, but 38 per cent of all brands showed an improved score from the 2018 report. Progress might be slow, but it is happening.
Below, see every brand that made it into the A category, and download the full report here.
Adidas A
APG & Co. A–
AS Colour A–
Cotton On Group A–
Country Road Group A–
Etiko A+
Freeset T–Shirts A+
Gildan Activewear A–
Hanesbrands A
Icebreaker A+
Inditex A
Industrie A–
Kathmandu A
Kookai A–
Kowtow A+
Liminal Apparel A+
Lululemon Athletica A–
Mighty Good Group A+
Nature Baby A–
Nobody Denim A–
Outland Denim A+
Patagonia A
Rodd & Gunn A– RREPP A
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