Major fashion brands preferred not to respond to a transparency test

According to the latest report by Fashion Revolution, a non-profit organisation for environmental and ethical activism in fashion, founded following the tragic Rana Plaza accident of 2013, there are still many brands that do not want to undergo sustainability audits. Every year, Fashion Revolution conducts a test of 250 of the world's biggest fashion houses to check their level of transparency in communicating their sustainability initiatives or regulations. By finding out which brands are using greenwashing as a marketing weapon to gain the support of eco-conscious consumers, and by highlighting those that are actively adhering to their own green statements, the Fashion Transparency Index analyses the contemporary fashion system in relation to companies' behaviour towards workers and the environment.

The results of the Fashion Transparency Index 2023

Transparency is not radical; it is the bare minimum. Achieving a sustainable, accountable and fair fashion industry will be impossible without it.

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— Fashion Revolution (@Fash_Rev) July 6, 2023

The introduction to Fashion Revolution's latest Fashion Transparency Index is somewhat demoralising, and clearly highlights an emergency situation. «While brands tell us more about their policies and commitments,» reads one of the report's first pages, «they also tell us much less about the results achieved by these policies and commitments.» This inaccessibility to the results of the practices implemented by brands makes Fashion Revolution's work almost useless, as without the actual evidence it is almost impossible to determine whether the system has been changed or not. Fortunately, international governments are implementing reforms against greenwashing, such as in Europe and more specifically in France, where they are tougher. But there is still a long way to go: fewer and fewer brands, the report notes, are submitting to Fashion Revolution's transparency audit. 61% of the largest fashion companies participated in the questionnaire, down one percentage point on the previous year.

Gucci and OVS set a new record 

Although more and more brands are reporting a daunting 0% transparency level, only in the last year from a total of 15 to 18, this year - for the first time in the history of the Fashion Transparency Index - two brands managed to score over 80%. The first is OVS, which again takes first place in the ranking with 83% transparency, and second Gucci, with 80%, up 21 percentage points on the previous year. Luxury, which according to representatives of Fashion Revolution has always been the least participatory sector in the report, this 2023 showed a remarkable growth in transparency: Armani, Jil Sander, Miu Miu and Prada, also showed an increase of between 17 and 21% in terms of communication about their production practices and treatment of workers. The brands with the highest scores remain H&M, The North Face, Puma, TImberland and Vans, all above 60%.

I peggiori brand in fatto di trasparenza 

As it does every year, the Fashion Transparency Index 2023 highlighted, alongside the brands that have increased their focus on clear communication of their practices, also those that have lost transparency, or even failed to show up at the Fashion Revolution appeal. At 0%, the report puts Tom Ford, which by the way is about to be relaunched on the catwalk under a new creative director, Max Mara and Savage X Fenty, while Clarks Gildan and Tommy Hilfiger suffered percentage drops of almost 10%. Since last year, Reebok, Billabong, Roxy and Quiksilver have all been removed from the report's list, all of which have been bought over the past few years by the US company Authentic Brands. Slightly down on the previous report were Patagonia, Chanel, Nike, Converse and Ermenegildo Zegna, which reported a 4% loss in transparency.