Kmart Australia and Target Australia, under Kmart Group, have dropped to third place in the Fashion Transparency Index with a new rating of 76%.
The Fashion Transparency Index, headed by Fashion Revolution, analyses and ranks 250 of the world’s biggest fashion brands and retailers based on various factors.
Kmart and Target Australia’s 2023 score is a drop of 2% from 2022 and has nudged the brand down the ladder from their highest score last year when they tied with OVS at 78%.
Global luxury brand Gucci has now taken second place at 80%, rising 21 percentage points from last year. First place was given to Italian fashion brand OVS, lifting by 5 percentage points to its new high score of 83%.
It is the first time two brands have scored 80% or higher in the seven consecutive years of publishing the index.
The five main areas of concern to the Fashion Transparency Index are Policies and Commitments, Governance, Traceability, Know, Show and Fix, and Spotlight Issues.
Kmart Australia and Target Australia both recorded the highest scores in Know, Show and Fix at 88% beating OVS and multinational fashion brand C&A by 17%. This category covers how brands identify and address human rights and environmental risks, impacts and violations in its supply chains.
In this same category, 85 brands (34%) scored in the 0-10% range, while 86% of all the brands scored are still receiving fewer than half of the available points in this section.
Meanwhile, Kmart and Target Australia scored 91% in Governance, alongside other fashion brands such as Zara, Superdry, Pull&Bear, Gucci and Fendi. However, they were overtaken by Puma, Hugo Boss, H&M, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Adidas which all scored 100% in Governance.
According to the report, Kmart Australia produces 230 million units of clothing every year.
Alongside the record highs this year, 18 major brands scored a 0% rating - up from 15 brands last year according to Fashion Revolution. This included the Australian-born brand Van Heusen. Overall, 28% brands scored in the 0-10% range, down from 31% last year.
The overwhelming majority (99%) of major fashion brands do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chains being paid a living wage rate.
Fashion Revolution reported that the global fashion industry has failed to make significant progress on transparency, with major labels achieving an overall average score of 26%, up just 2% from last year.
More than half (52%) of the 250 brands reviewed are disclosing their first-tier supplier lists, which has lifted by 20% since the first edition of the index.
Despite growing interest to mitigate fashion waste, including in Australia, 88% of brands do not disclose their annual production volumes nor do they commit to reducing the number of new items they produce. This has risen by 3% on last year.
Meanwhile, 94% of major fashion brands do not disclose what fuel is used in the manufacturing of their clothes.
“As activists, it is maddening to have to continually push for what ultimately is the bare minimum of what we should expect from major fashion brands,” Fashion Revolution policy and research manager Liv Simpliciano said.
“The unimpressive progress here is worrisome in the face of deepening social inequality, environmental destruction and various incoming legislations.
“We are pleased that a minority of brands are finally scoring 80% or higher but even 100% transparency is only the starting point and it seems many major fashion brands have yet to even show up to the race.
“Time is running out and yet the majority of the fashion industry continues to dig their heels in and refuse to change. We cannot shop our way out of the climate crisis, we cannot recycle our way out of overproduction and frankly, there is no fashion on a dead planet.”