A new report has found that fashion brands in Australia are making little progress for workers’ rights and environmental protection.
The Ethical Fashion Report scores brands out of 100 based on their ethical commitments.
Australian brands including Ghanda and White Fox were given a zero.
Let’s unpack what the report found.
Background
Baptist World Aid Australia has published the Ethical Fashion Report since 2013, looking at the fashion industry’s environmental and human rights progress.
In the most recent edition, it assessed 138 companies representing 543 brands, giving each a score out of 100.
The score is determined by assessing human rights and environmental risks in each company’s supply chain.
This covers issues such as forced labour, living wages and waste reduction.
Findings
The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global emissions.
While the report found a positive shift towards using sustainable fibres, overproduction remains a key issue.
It says 88% of companies could not prove they pay workers a living wage, while more than half of companies do not have established processes to address child and forced labour in the factories where their clothes are made.
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The average score for the companies assessed is 31.5 out of 100, up 0.2 points from 2024.
(Note: All companies named as bottom scorers were assessed on public information only.)
Response
The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) is the industry’s peak body.
Addressing the report, AFC Executive Chair Marianne Perkovic told TDA that “environmental progress must go hand in hand with respect for human rights”.
She said the AFC is focused on initiatives to improve transparency in supply chains and production.
“Progress requires collaboration across brands, manufacturers, workers and government, alongside each business taking responsibility for its own practices,” Perkovic added.
Progress
One of the report authors, Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Lead Katherine Halliday, said that while companies are better at “talking about sustainbility,” that “isn’t translating to real change on the ground.”
Halliday also said that cost of living expenses mean consumers and businesses “are turning to cheap clothing to keep up with trends”.
Despite increased costs of living, retail spending grew 5.8% in the year to May 2026, according to ABS data.
