River Island makes transparency pledge

River Island has committed to publishing the names and locations of the Tier 1 factories that manufacture its clothes by the end of March, in an initiative that aims to provide further transparency in the supply chain.

The British high street brand has joined a global effort by signing the Human Rights Watch’s Transparency Pledge. It follows in the steps of other clothing and footwear brands, including H&M, Asos, New Look and Next, which have already aligned with the Transparency Pledge.

The River Island list will be published online, and updated every six months to ensure it remains accurate.

“This is an important step in driving greater transparency in the fashion industry, in order to ensure fair and safe working conditions in factories worldwide,” said the clothing seller. “It also enables industry collaboration to prevent serious global issues such as modern slavery.”

Human Rights Watch has been chasing dozens of other fashion brands to join the pledge. Among others, Decathlon, Sports Direct, Mango, Foot Locker and Urban Outfitters have yet to publicly disclose supply chain information.

Meanwhile, H&M leads the transparency race by becoming the first major fashion chain to list supplier details for each individual garment. The data went live online in April last year.

River Island makes transparency pledge

See also