Online fast-fashion giant Shein is outperforming many Australian high street retailers on ethical standards, according to an industry review. The 11th Baptist World Aid ethical fashion report, released on Tuesday, assessed the ethical practices of 138 Australian and international companies, representing 543 fashion brands. Overall, the report found that only 13% of the fashion companies surveyed could show evidence of paying a living wage to any of the workers in their supply chain.
The organisation surveys companies on five broad supply chain topics, including worker empowerment and environmental sustainability, to score brands out of 100. The ultra-fast fashion website Shein was given a score of 28. The Chinese e-commerce company has been criticised for its environmental impact and accused of facilitating or even encouraging overconsumption through its very cheap prices.
The Baptist World Aid report noted that Australia ranks as the world’s highest consumer of textiles per person, with more than 200,000 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill every year. While its score was below the average of 31.5, Shein beat several well-known retail companies including Myer, Windsor Smith, Ghanda and Quiksilver owner Boardriders. Ghanda and Windsor Smith were among the worst-rated companies with scores of zero.
Shein competitor Temu, another Chinese e-commerce website, also received a score of zero. The swimwear label Seafolly was given a score of one. Activewear maker 2XU scored two; while Boardriders, which also owns surf brands Roxy and Billabong, and formal wear favourite Bec and Bridge both scored three.
Myer scored 20 for its retail arm and its apparel business. This year’s report noted that Shein supplied Baptist World Aid with additional information whereas Myer, Seafolly, Ghanda, Windsor Smith, Boardriders, 2XU, Bec and Bridge did not. These companies and the other businesses who did not participate in the research project were assessed only on their publicly available information, which tends to yield a lower ranking.
Baptist World Aid said its researchers undertook a “rigorous engagement process to ensure, to the best of our ability, that all assessed companies are aware of their inclusion in the research, have the opportunity to participate, and are informed of the key project timelines”. They said over the course of a 13-month engagement period companies were contacted via email on approximately 16 occasions, including when they were sent their final score. Overall, more than half of the companies analysed did not respond to the researchers: the report said 58% of the businesses were assessed solely on their publicly available information, compared with 42% who provided more.
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