ASOS

ASOS has its own code of conduct. All manufacturers the brand works with must abide by this. This code of conduct prohibits forced labour and child labour, for instance. It also includes agreements on a safe working environment, fair pay and transparency.

ASOS says it visits all its manufacturers itself to carry out audits. These audits are unannounced to get a real look at conditions. ASOS also works with non-profit organisations in several countries to improve working conditions.

Some of the manufacturers are based in Europe, for example in Spain, Italy or the UK. These manufacturers must comply with strict European laws ensuring production is carried out under ethical conditions.

Although this sounds positive, an in – house code of conduct is not actually a strict guarantee of ethical working conditions. Manufacturers are only audited by ASOS itself, not by independent third parties. A brand is more reliable if it has a certificate from or membership of certain organisations, such as the fair wear foundation.

ASOS uses a lot of different materials in their collection. Unfortunately, these also include several unsustainable materials such as polyester and polyamide. These are both synthetic materials made from petroleum. The disadvantage of these is that microplastics are released when they are washed. These microplastics then end up in our waterways and oceans where they are very harmful to the environment.

Standard viscose and cotton are also unsustainable materials which ASOS uses. Conventional cotton requires large amounts of water and chemicals to be grown and produced. A sustainable alternative to this is organic or recycled cotton. Viscose is not sustainable because many harmful chemicals are required for its production. It’s also made from wood pulp so it’s important to know where the wood is coming from. A more sustainable alternative to this is Tencel from the company Lenzing. ASOS already uses Tencel material for a small part of their collection. Tencel is viscose made from wood, sourced from sustainable forests. Lenzing therefore has a completely closed production loop so chemicals cannot be released.

ASOS has many sustainability goals and promises. For instance, they promise to become carbon neutral and use more recycled and sustainable materials. These goals and promises sound promising at first glance, but unfortunately are not very concrete. The brand’s website is full of information about the sustainability of their collections but COSH! is not able to find concrete figures and measurable progress to back this up. 

ASOS’ collections are not circular. The clothes often consist of a blend of different materials. This makes the clothes difficult to recycle after use.

According to them, ASOS uses recycled materials in at least 30% of their collection. Some clothes in the collection are labelled as ​‘recycled polyester’ without any further information. As a result, COSH! remains sceptical about the sustainability of these clothes. Want to know more about the impact of recycled polyester? Read all about it here.

ASOS does not have a short supply chain. The brand works with manufacturers from all over the world. Production takes place in Morocco, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and Madagascar, among others. ASOS works with over 600 manufacturers, this leads to a lot of different steps in the supply chain.

ASOS is committed to ensuring their collections are animal cruelty-free. That’s why they have their own policies on animal welfare. Various materials, such as fur, angora, alpaca and silk, are banned from the collections. In addition, the brand only uses leather sourced from the food industry. By using this by-product, no animals are killed just for the leather.

ASOS’s designs respond to trends significantly shortening their lifespan. The quality of the material also has a big impact on the lifespan of the clothes. But COSH! suspects that the quality of their materials is unfortunately not very high.

ASOS also has some unisex designs in their collection. This ensures that you can easily share the clothes with others.

ASOS scores pretty well on transparency. You can find a list of all their manufacturers and suppliers on their website. Unfortunately, the origin of the materials is often not clear. It is also impossible to tell which factory made each product.