PRESS RELEASE: FASHION TRANSPARENCY INDEX 2022
Embargoed 5am BST 14th July 2022
The world’s largest fashion brands and retailers must increase transparency to tackle the climate crisis and social
inequality, according to the latest Fashion Transparency Index.
•Brands achieved an average score of just 24%, with nearly a third of brands scoring less than 10%•

The majority of brands (85%) do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidenceof clothing waste around the world•

Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid
a living wage

The seventh edition of the Fashion Transparency Index ranks 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers
based on their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices, and impacts, across theiroperations and supply chains.
The Index reveals insights into the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry, like:•As new and proposed legislation focuses on greenwashing claims, almost half of major brands (45%) publish
targets on sustainable materials yet only 37% provide information on what constitutes a sustainable material.

•Only 24% of major brands disclose how they minimise the impacts of microfibres despite textiles being the largest
source of microplastics in the ocean.

•The vast majority of major brands and retailers (94%) do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chains
who are paying recruitment fees. This paints an unclear picture of the risks of forced labour as workers may begetting into crippling debt to accept jobs paying poverty wages.

•While many brands use their channels to talk about social justice, they need to go beyond lip service. Just 8% ofbrands publish their actions on racial and ethnic equality in their supply chains.

Despite these disappointing results, Fashion Revolution is encouraged by increasing supply chain transparency among
many major brands, primarily with first-tier manufacturers where the final stage of production occurs, e.g. cutting,sewing, finishing and packing. Nine brands have disclosed their first-tier manufacturers for the first time this year.
It is encouraging to see significant progress across market segments including luxury, sportswear, footwear andaccessories and across different geographies.
Fashion Revolution’s co-founder and Global Operations Director Carry Somers says:“In 2016, only 5 out of 40 major brands (12.5%) disclosed their suppliers. Seven years later, 121 out of 250 major
brands (48%) disclose their suppliers. This clearly demonstrates how the Index incentivises transparency but
it also shows that brands really are listening to the millions of people around the world who keep asking them
#WhoMadeMyClothes? Our power is in our persistence.”More key findings from the Fashion Transparency Index 2022
Progress on transparency in the global fashion industry is still too slow among 250 of the world’s largest fashion
brands and retailers, with brands achieving an overall average score of just 24%, up 1% from last year
For another year, we have seen major brands and retailers publicly disclose the most information about their policies,
commitments and processes on human rights and environmental topics and significantly less about the results,
outcomes and impacts of their efforts.
Most (85%) major brands still do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidence of
overproduction and clothing waste
Thousands of tonnes of clothing waste are found globally. However, brands have disclosed more information about
the circular solutions they are developing (28%) than on the actual volumes of pre- (10%) and post-production waste
they produce (8%). Brands have sat by as waste importing countries foot the bill, resulting in serious human rights andenvironmental implications.
Just 11% of brands publish a responsible purchasing code of conduct indicating that most are still reluctant todisclose how their purchasing practices could be affecting suppliers and workers
Greater transparency on how brands interact with their suppliers ought to be a first step towards eliminating harmful
practices and promoting fair purchasing practices. The poor performance on transparency in this vital area is a missed
opportunity for brands to demonstrate they are serious about addressing the root causes of harmful working conditions,
including the instances where they themselves are the key driver.
Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, less than a third of major brands disclose a decarbonisation target
covering their entire supply chain which is verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative
Many brands and retailers rely heavily on garment producing countries that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate
crisis, yet our research shows that only 29% of major brands and retailers publish a decarbonisation target covering theiroperations and supply chain which is verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Only 11% of brands publish their supplier wastewater test results, despite the textile industry being a leading
contributor to water pollution
The fashion industry is a major contributor to water pollution and one of the most water intensive industries on theplanet. Only 11% of major brands publish their wastewater test result, and only 25% of brands disclose the process ofconducting water-related risk assessments in their supply chain. Transparency on wastewater test results is key toensuring that brands are held accountable for their potentially devastating impacts on local biodiversity, garment workers
and their communities.
Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living
wage nor do they disclose if they isolate labour costs
Insufficient progress is being made by most brands towards ensuring that the workers in their supply chain are paidenough to cover their basic needs and put aside some discretionary income. Just 27% of brands disclose their approachto achieving living wages for supply chain workers and 96% do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain
paid a living wage. In response, we have joined forces with allies across civil society to launch Good Clothes, Fair Pay.
The campaign demands groundbreaking living wage legislation across the garment, textile and footwear sector. We arecollecting one million signatures from EU citizens from 19th July 2022: Visit goodclothesfairpay.eu to sign your name.

Highest scoring brands in 2022
Italian brand OVS scored highest again this year with 78%, tied with Kmart Australia and Target Australia, who increased
their scores by 22 percentage points vs. 2021. This is followed by H&M, The North Face and Timberland who are tied at66%. The biggest movers this year are Calzedonia Group brands (Calzedonia, Intimissimi and Tezenis) who increased
their score by to 54%, a significant improvement compared to last year’s 11%.

Lowest scoring brands in 2022
17 major brands score a dismal 0% rating including: Jil Sander, Fashion Nova, New Yorker, Max Mara, Semir, Tom Ford,Helian Home, Belle, Big Bazaar, Elie Tahari, Justfab, K-Way, KOOVs, Metersbonwe, Mexx, Splash and Youngor. A total of 73
brands score in the 0-10% range -- that’s almost a third of the world’s largest brands and retailers. We need to see asignificant shift in the next 12 months if brands are serious in their commitment to tackling global inequality and theclimate crisis.
Fashion Revolution’s Policy & Research Manager Liv Simpliciano believes that greater transparency is crucial in order toaddress the root cause of many of fashion’s social and environmental issues featured in the Fashion Transparency Index.
“It is frustrating to see brands’ continued lack of transparency on critical issues like their waste volumes,
carbon and water footprints and workers being paid a living wage. When there is a lack of transparency on theissue itself, we cannot reasonably understand if what is being done is robust enough to drive the impact weso urgently need. Transparency empowers civil society and workers’ representatives and until brands publicly
disclose all the information necessary to hold them accountable for their impacts, being un-transparent feels
like a deliberate strategy to reinforce the status quo.”
For more information, visit www.fashionrevolution.org/transparency
Contact press@fashionrevolution.org for interview requests
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Notes to Editors
ABOUT FASHION REVOLUTION
Fashion Revolution is a global movement campaigning for a fashion industry that conserves and restores theenvironment and values people over growth and profit. Since 2014 the organisation has been working in over 90
countries worldwide across research, education and advocacy. Fashion Revolution was founded in 2014 by CarrySomers and Orsola de Castro with the aim to increase transparency in the fashion industry and stand in solidarity
with the people who make our clothes. Since then, it has grown to be the world’s largest fashion activism movement,
mobilising citizens, brands and policymakers to make positive change.

ABOUT THE FASHION TRANSPARENCY INDEXThe Fashion Transparency Index analyses and ranks 250 of the world’s biggest fashion brands and retailers based on
their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices and impacts, in their operations and intheir supply chains.
Brands are selected on the basis of an annual turnover over USD $400 million and represent a spread of market
segments including high street, luxury, sportswear, accessories, footwear and denim from across Europe, North
America, South America, Asia and Africa.
These brands are ranked according to their disclosure on 246 indicators covering a wide range of social andenvironmental topics such as animal welfare, biodiversity, chemicals, climate, due diligence, forced labour, freedomof association, gender equality, living wages, purchasing practices, supplier disclosure, waste and recycling, working
conditions and more.
It is important to note that transparency is not to be confused with sustainability. However, without transparency,achieving a sustainable, accountable, and fair fashion industry will be impossible. Transparency underpins
transformative change but unfortunately much of the fashion value chain remains opaque, while human andenvironmental exploitation thrives with impunity. When brands publicly disclose information, it allows anyone toscrutinise their policies, hold them accountable for their claims and advocate for positive change.