The Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF) 2023-2024 Annual Report examined advancements in living wages and incomes in the apparel and footwear industry. Adidas, Asics, Esprit, Fast Retailing, H&M, Hugo Boss, Inditex, Kering, LVMH, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Primark, Puma, and Zalando were among the thirty-three businesses that were evaluated.
The primary conclusion was that, despite the fact that numerous companies in this industry have pledged to participate in multistakeholder projects that target living wages, there is still little proof of their practical effects.
Regarding progress, the study discovered that over three-quarters of the evaluated businesses revealed the identities and locations of their Tier-1 suppliers, demonstrating advancements in supply chain transparency. They ought to begin mapping and revealing their supply chain outside of Tier-1 suppliers, though.
Similar to this, additional information is required regarding the practical implementation of responsible purchasing procedures, even though over 80% of businesses demonstrated that they had a responsible purchasing policy and 33% of those organisations gave compelling examples of its use.
The majority of brands also actively support multistakeholder campaigns to advance living wages, such ACT and the Fair Wear Foundation. Only a small number of businesses, nevertheless, have shown quantifiable impact. PLWF advocates for greater transparency on its involvement with suppliers and workers over living wages through multistakeholder initiatives.
Even though there has been considerable improvement in remediation efforts, the study states that this is still a “core area” for disclosure improvement. Furthermore, it is necessary to reveal the categories of grievances and provide proof that they are being tracked.
Additionally, there is little proof of attempts to monitor the success of living wage initiatives. In this regard, the paper recommends disclosing the qualitative and quantitative metrics that are employed to evaluate the reduction of living wage disparities.
Small discrepancies have been observed between company policy and commitments on living wages and recent updates in global standards such as the ILO definition of living wage, EU CSDDD, EU CSRD, and the UN Global Compact Forward Faster Initiative. As a result, companies must endeavour to strengthen their living wage policy and public commitments to meet international standards on living wages and pertinent reporting regulations.
