Transparency is key to a clean, safe, fair and accountable fashion industry.
The fashion industry has a huge impact on people and the planet. It is the second-largest polluter after the oil industry, and it is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions. It is also a major contributor to water pollution and waste.
Transparency is the first step towards addressing these issues. When brands are transparent about their practices, it allows stakeholders to hold them accountable and to demand change.
The Fashion Transparency Index is a tool that helps to measure the transparency of the world’s largest fashion brands. The index assesses brands on their policies, practices, and impacts across a range of issues, including:
* **Traceability:** How far down the supply chain do brands disclose?
* **Carbon emissions:** What are brands doing to reduce their carbon footprint?
* **Water pollution:** What are brands doing to reduce their water pollution?
* **Toxic chemicals:** What chemicals are brands using in their products?
* **Working conditions:** What are brands doing to ensure good working conditions for their workers?
The Fashion Transparency Index shows that the vast majority of brands are not transparent enough. Only 24% of brands disclose their supply chain down to raw material level, and only 11% of brands publish their wastewater test results.
This lack of transparency makes it difficult to hold brands accountable for the impact they are having on people and the planet. It also makes it difficult to develop solutions to the problems that the fashion industry is facing.
Transparency is not enough. Brands need to go beyond simply disclosing information and take action to address the issues that they have identified. They need to implement robust due diligence on human rights and environmental risks, and publicly evidence the outcomes and impacts of their efforts.
Policymakers need to create legislation that requires transparency and corporate accountability on environmental and human rights issues. Investors and shareholders need to prioritize meaningful environmental, social, and governance factors into their investment strategies.
Civil society, including journalists and academics, can use data and findings to verify the public claims made by brands, and to hold them accountable when they make claims that do not reflect the reality on the ground.
We all have a role to play in creating a more transparent, fair, and accountable fashion industry. We can demand that brands be more transparent, and we can support policies that require transparency and corporate accountability. We can invest in companies that are committed to sustainability, and we can speak out against brands that are not doing their part to protect people and the planet.
Together, we can build a fashion industry that is clean, safe, fair, and accountable.