Cotton On Group’s A Grade in Baptist World Aid’s 2018 Ethical Fashion Report
18th April, 2018
The Cotton On Group is pleased to have been recognised as Australia’s highest performing multinational fashion retailer, receiving an A grade in the 2018 Baptist World Aid (BWA) Ethical Fashion Report.
The fifth annual Ethical Fashion Report rates businesses on a diverse set of criteria which measure the efforts they have undertaken to protect workers from exploitation across the entire supply chain.
It addresses common issues being tackled by retailers today including forced labour, child labour and empowerment of workers; taking into consideration the systems in place not only within the final manufacturing or ‘cut and sew’ stage, but through inputs production, and down to a raw materials level.
The Report acts as a tool for shoppers to make ethical purchases from retailers whose operations are in line with their own social values.
Cotton On Group’s Risk and Sustainability General Manager, James Hubbard said, “At the Cotton On Group, the environments in which our products are made, the people who make them and the materials used are incredibly important to us, and form a critical part of our ethical responsibility”.
We know that our responsibility goes far beyond selling clothes and we endeavour to use our size and scale of operations to have a positive impact on people, communities and the planet.
Since the first edition of the Report the Group has worked tirelessly to evolve its ethical and sustainable approach to operating as a global retailer by taking steps to ensure the environments in which its products are sourced and manufactured are safe, fair and sustainable; improving its score each year as a result.
The Group’s improvement in grade in 2017 can be attributed to a continued commitment to furthering traceability and; working closely with suppliers on embedding awareness, education and ongoing development of gender equality initiatives across the supply chain. Hubbard also noted the Group’s “investment in training of our suppliers in order to protect the human rights and health and safety of workers” as being key.
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved to date but know this is a journey of continuous improvement and one that we are committed to well into the future.