What’s the low down on this year’s list?
This year’s Naughty or Nice list asks brands to commit to completing a wage gap analysis in their supply chain by October 2023. A wage gap analysis involves calculating the difference between current worker wages and the living wage – it is a key step in an evidenced-based plan to improve wages. We all know if you want to fix a problem you need to know exactly what it is and how big it is, that’s why the wage gap analysis is such an important step on the journey to pay a living wage.
For Oxfam, this represents the first step in making a plan on our company tracker. Once brands know what the gap is we expect them to make plans to bridge it and ensure all workers in their supply chain are paid a living wage.
Naughty brands
This year Jeans West and Zara are the naughtiest brands, both falling behind in their living wage journey. And both failed to become transparent and publish their factory list.
There are a big group of brands that are naughty.
Some of the naughty brands have become transparent, but have resisted the call to complete a wage gap analysis. This list includes Best & Less, H&M, Big W, Kmart, Target, and the newly added Uniqlo.
Modibodi, also on the naughty list, has fallen short of committing to conduct a wage gap analysis and is yet to publish their factory lists but is due to release these locations next year.
Just Group which includes brands like Jay Jays, Dotti, Just Jeans, and Peter Alexander has made some big steps forward this year including committing to conduct a wage gap analysis but remain on the naughty list because they haven’t published their factory lists.
Nice Brands
Nice brands are up-to-date on previous commitments and have made the commitment to complete a wage gap analysis in their supply chain. We are excited to announce that –
- Bonds
- City Chic
- Cotton On
- Country Road Group including – Country Road, Trenery, Witchery and Politix
- David Jones,
- Factory X including – Dangerfield, Gorman and Princess Hway
- Forever New
- Myers,
- Mosaic brands including Katies, Rivers, Millers and Noni B among others
Are all nice
One brand, Lorna Jane, has been called out as the nicest this year. Lorna Jane has already completed a wage gap analysis and published their results.
What is a wage gap analysis and why is it important?
A wage gap analysis involves collecting data on how much the employees in the factory are paid and then comparing the wages of the lowest paid workers to the living wage benchmark relevant to that factory. Once the data has been collected for all suppliers, brands can use the results and create specific time bound targets and milestones to bridge the gap between the lowest paid employees and a living wage.
This call is just the latest step in the What She Makes campaign which has now been running for 5 years. But we aren’t the only ones calling on fashon to be more ethical this great Conversation piece lists many placed consumers are turning to be more informed.
What She Makes campaign is growing and going global!
More recently we have joined forces with others from the Oxfam confederation advocating together to big brands to ensure the women who make our clothes are paid a living wage. From across the Pacific Ocean, we welcome Oxfam Aotearoa (New Zealand), and from further afield Oxfam Canada to the What She Makes crew!
Our colleagues from Oxfam Aotearoa have recently launched their own What She Makes campaign. It includes many popular brands that you can find in your own local shopping centers such as Kathmandu, Glassons, Lululemon, H&M and Hallenstein Bros.
Oxfam Canada’s campaign includes Lululemon and others such as Joe Fresh, Herschel, Aritzia & Roots. The team in Canada put together some short films to support their campaign.
Over the past 5 years, the What She Makes campaign has been working tirelessly to push big brands along their living wage journey. Many major brands have become transparent, creating an industry shift towards factory lists being public. Many major brands are steadily progressing with implementing separated labour costs and some are already finished.
Now that the What She Makes campaign is in other markets, our potential for impact has grown. With a wider support base, we can demand brands commit to a living wage from across the world. Brands can’t hide from the truth much longer, the time to ensure the women who make our clothes are paid a living wage is now.
History of What She Makes
Over the past 5 years, we have released numerous reports investigating poor purchasing practices, speaking to women with firsthand experience in the industry and equipping ourselves with the knowledge necessary to take on big brands to demand they pay the women who make our clothes a living wage.
Together with the help of our passionate supporters and activists we have campaigned for living wages. From in-store to on the streets and via letter writing, and online through pledges, social media tactics and petitions.
Who will be naughty or nice in the future? Watch this space.
This year many brands have made the commitment to conduct a wage gap analysis in their supply chain. The results from these wage gap analyses will be used within evidenced based plans to actually start paying the women who make our clothes a living wage. But years of poor purchasing practices, exploitation and broken trust cannot be fixed with any short-term solutions.
Oxfam is committed to working with allies, brands, industry experts and communities to ensure living wages for the women who make our clothes for the long term.
The What She Makes team would like to extend a big thankyou to all our passionate supporters who have embraced the campaign, shared the stories of the women who make our clothes, and demanded Naughty brands keep up with the living wage journey.
