Australia’s largest fashion retailers have been named and shamed for grim conditions in their supply chains, according to fresh analysis that finds most brands don’t pay a living wage.

Baptist World Aid’s ethical fashion report, published this week, revealed only two out of 120 fashion brands paid their workers enough to afford the basics.

Almost 90 per cent did not pay a living wage at any stage in their supply chains, the report said.

“It’s alarming to see,” said Gina Snodgrass, Baptist World Aid advocacy specialist.

“It’s time to call on companies to play their part and take meaningful action to ensure all workers in their supply chains earn enough to meet their family’s basic needs.”

All told, BWA scored Australian retailers an average 31.3 out of 100 in its 2024 report.

That includes key factors such as: Tracing and risk controls in their supply chains; human rights monitoring, environmental sustainability, and whether workers are paid enough.

Major brands including Amazon, Jeanswest, Showpo and Temu were all rated around or below the bottom fifth of the industry when ranked by researchers across five categories.

Others such as Kmart and H&M performed closer to the industry average, but scored poorly on worker empowerment and the corporate governance around their supply chain arrangements.

University of Sydney retail expert Lisa Asher said the takeover of fast fashion in Australia’s retail landscape has happened so fast that “ethical obligations have not been able to keep pace”.

“We need reform and transparency on supply chains and third party manufacturing from big brands,” Asher said.

“Avoiding fast fashion in general, and thinking about more durable clothes, rather than items which only last a couple of wears is the only way to avoid it at the moment.”

Source: Baptist World Aid.

There were some signs of improvement across the industry over the past year, particularly among brands like Retail Apparel Group and Lorna Jane, though the latter still only scored 39.

The industry is changing far too slowly, Snodgrass said.

“Companies are only improving at the rate of 1 per cent per year, meaning at this rate it will take 69 years for most fashion companies to get to 100.

“They must accelerate their progress – not just for the millions of workers facing unsafe and forced labour conditions daily, or the environment suffering from pollution and overproduction, but also to meet their own ESG targets,” she said.

Shopping more ethically

The Baptist World Aid and other similar reports into supply chain transparency can help shoppers make more ethical decisions at the checkout.

It’s not always easy though with research showing customers often feel overwhelmed when trying to shop ethically, particularly when fast fashion dominates major shopping centres.

As TND has previously explored, assessing your shopping habits and looking for brands with ethical certifications for allowing their supply chains to be audited can be a good first step.

Rachel Reilly, national manager at Ethical Clothing Australia, said the BWA figures were “abysmal”.

“For 25 years, Ethical Clothing Australia has been protecting local workers through our accreditation program,” Reilly said.

“Local businesses voluntarily opt-in to the accreditation program, and in doing so, consent to have their entire local supply chain, from design to dispatch, audited on an annual basis.”

More broadly, experts have told TND that buying clothing that might come with a higher price tag, but will also last much longer, is a key way to vote against fast fashion with your wallet.

Source: Baptist World Aid.

That includes purchasing high quality, durable clothing second-hand, rather than at discount retailers like Kmart, H&M and Uniqlo.

“The only way I see avoiding companies that do not pay a living wage is to welcome in op-shopping or buying secondhand, or even go back to sewing ourselves,” Asher said.

“I decided this year for the full year not to buy anything new, I would sew anything back together if it broke … I also allowed myself to buy something new if it was secondhand.’’

Deakin University consumer behaviour expert Paul Harrison has previously told TND that making businesses behave more ethically comes down to threatening their profits.

“Whenever I’m consulting for businesses they say, ‘What’s in it for us?’ … they’re still driven by a profit objective rather than a social one,” he said.

Asher said fast fashion retailers are the “worst offenders”, making it key to avoid them.

“Each purchase we make justifies their business model,” Asher said.