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UK’s EAC releases report on sustainability winners

The UK Parliament’s Environment Audit Select Committee (EAC) released the first findings, detailing the winners and losers of the nation’s fashion industry in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. The committee began its investigation by sending written requests to 16 of the U.K.’s most impactful fashion retailers, as determined by market share, along with four online-only retailers after reports surfaced of “illegally low wages” in fast fashion supply chains. In Leicester, northwest of London, wages for garment workers can run as low as 3.50 pounds ($4.57) per hour, according to the committee’s findings.

All but one of the retailers that were contacted responded to the EAC, the lone holdout being high-end footwear retailer Kurt Geiger. However, in the eyes of the committee, the responses were all but equal. To illustrate, the EAC’s report separated each retailer into three categories: “less engaged,” “moderately engaged” and “engaged.” Amazon UK, Boohoo, Missguided, TJX and both JD Sports and Sports Direct received lowest marks of all surveyed, with the committee relegating to the “less engaged” tier. Notably, Amazon’s U.K. operation was called out for its tepid response to the program despite the company’s increasingly large role in the local fashion industry.

The other retailers in the committee’s bottom tier were more notable for their sloppy or seemingly insincere efforts to join programs like SCAP—a U.K. organisation dedicated to reducing fashion’s environmental footprint—and the committee recommended that these organisations begin to prioritise their efforts to do so.

 

 
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