Several Australian fashion brands were put on a “naughty list” because of the transparency of the treatment of workers making their clothes. Oxfam has called out fashion brands such as Zara and Jeans West for their “failure to engage in transparency, sharing factory locations and establishing pay standards for apparel workers” on their annual “Naughty or Nice” list of how brands treat workers at factories.
Consumers are being encouraged by Oxfam’s Chief Executive, Lyn Morgain, to take into account brands’ placement in the list when deciding where to spend their money this Black Friday and Christmas.
The “naughtiest” featured are Zara and Jeans West, with Myer seeing a bump in their rankings compared with last year, placing them in the “nicest” list. To make the “nice” list, brands must pledge to carry out pay gap analysis, which involves computing the gap between the wages earned by the current workforce and a living wage, then devise a plan to close the gap, which Ms Morgain says is easy for businesses to do.