“Fashion companies fail to report on ethics”, 12 November 2020

Global research organisation Business and Human Rights Resource Centre asked 50 fashion companies to respond to questions about responsible actions taken to protect factory workers.

More than half (29) of the brands and retailers recorded profits since the onset of Covid-19. Of these, nine have not committed to pay for all orders and 10 did not respond to the survey, the charity reported.

PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein, is the only retailer surveyed to have implemented a pandemic policy with factory suppliers to ensure workers are not disproportionately laid off.

Three companies – Aldi Nord, Aldi Sud and Lidl – have implemented a new policy not to ask factories for price reductions on comparable items to previous seasons.

Thulsi Narayanasamy, senior labour rights lead at Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, said: “We are long past the time when a ‘we’ve not had time to prepare’ defence will wash.

"At the start of the pandemic, fashion brands said they had ‘no option’ but to cancel orders and protect their bottom line … Since then, garment workers have lost billions in wages, faced discriminatory layoffs in countries with no safety net, and factory suppliers are still being mercilessly squeezed by brands on prices, struggling to stay afloat or pay worker wages.”