The current level of supply chain transparency in the leather and allied industries is dramatically low. Only 29 of the 100 major companies surveyed provide some information about their supplier base, according to a joint study conducted by human rights organisation INKOTA and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)/
The topline findings:
- In terms of the level and detail of information these companies provide, the picture gets even grimmer. Only 17 of the 100 companies provide any information about suppliers beyond the first tier of their supply chain, such as tanneries.
- Of the different market segments, the luxury brands are not frontrunners. Just 9 out of the 44 luxury brand companies disclose their first-tier suppliers.
- Of the 49 footwear brands and retailers, only 13 disclose information about their first-tier suppliers. All 7 of the e-tailers analysed publish a list of their first-tier suppliers.
- Twenty-two companies provide details about the workforce, most often by disclosing the number of workers and in some cases disaggregating the number by sex.
- Six luxury brands provide the number of workers per supplier: Bally, Chloé, Fendi, Gucci, Ted Baker, and Zegna. Fendi and Zegna provide a gender breakdown of these numbers. Zegna further lists the percentage of migrant workers among the workforce.
- Just five companies provide a little more detail by including the number of migrant workers.
- A mere four companies provide some information with regard to the presence of trade unions at supplier facilities or coverage by a collective bargaining agreement.
- Seven companies provide details about the social audits carried out at their suppliers or the sustainability certifications these facilities hold. Not one company provides any information on wages.
- None of the 100 companies provide information on human rights and labour rights risks they have identified at the facility level.
- Only 3 of the 44 luxury brands mention the certifications their supplier facilities hold: Bally, Gucci, and Zegna.
The survey: For this analysis, SOMO selected 100 companies in two specific leather-based segments of the global garment industry: luxury goods (44) and footwear (49). These segments typically produce a wide variety of items.
- Additionally, the researchers included a number of online retailers (6) in the selection, in view of their increasing market share.
- Among the 100 selected companies are some of the largest players in these segments in terms of size, turnover, and market share.
- SOMO used information from various sources to undertake this analysis.
- These included Fashion Revolution’s 2021 Transparency Index, which reports on 250 major players in the garment industry, Veraart Research Group’s Retail-Index, and Refinitiv Eikon.
- Another criterion the researchers applied in the selection was the companies’ presence in German, Dutch, and Austrian consumer markets.
