We are not perfect, but we will be perfectly transparent as we tackle the various humanitarian and environmental issues that have plagued the fashion industry for far too long.
Brands do not know where their clothes are made. Rampant subcontracting and a pervasive “ignorance is bliss” mentality have created incredibly opaque supply chains in the global fashion industry. When journalists report factory collapses, worker abuse, child labor, etc., it is not only news to the public – it is news to the brands responsible.
How do brands know if their working conditions are safe if they don’t know which factories to assess? How do they know if workers are compensated fairly if they don’t know who their workers are?
We believe that a responsible supply chain begins with knowing your supply chain. Below are some of our supply chain policies and practices:
Brands, in their pursuit of maximizing profits, are constantly putting pressure on factories overseas to make clothes cheaper and more quickly.
Factories, largely in impoverished areas of the world and desperate for western brands’ business, are forced to cut corners (e.g. subcontract portions of orders without brand’s knowledge to lower-cost factories) to satisfy brands’ unrealistic demands. This translates to underpaid workers, worker abuse, and unsafe working conditions.
In addition to working with our partner factories to ensure fair pricing of goods and realistic deadlines, we have decided to publish the actual wages of our factory workers.
Fox & Robin is the first and only activewear brand to disclose our factory workers’ wages and one of only three fashion brands globally to do so.
Our hope is that transparent wage disclosure will initiate a larger conversation around appropriate compensation and treatment of our constituents abroad that make the clothes on our backs.
As we grow (with your help) and have more leverage within the fashion industry, we want to be an advocate on behalf of those currently without a voice – factory workers overseas.
At Fox & Robin, we do the following to minimize our environmental impact:
