How sustainable is Topshop?
This screening has been done by Fairify on April 7th 2020
Topshop is a popular fast fashion brand for women that’s owned by Arcadia Group, a British multinational high street retailer. The information Arcadia Group provides is not brand-specific, which makes it difficult to look at its brands’ sustainability individually. The information that the company does communicate is provided on its website, but not in a general sustainability report. This makes it harder to find out how well it does as a company. Furthermore, the information that it does provide can feel like a course in statistics and often misrepresents how the company is really doing. For example, reporting on scope 3 emissions only includes business travel, which is a drop in a bucket compared to real supply chain emissions.
It’s unfortunate that the company is not transparent and a lot of information is missing. That being said, it’s a big positive that it publishes an elaborate list of factories, mills, tanneries and processors in its supply chain. The intentions in Arcadia Group’s Code of Conduct are great, but the company operates in many high-risk countries where there’s a substantial risk of harmful working conditions and the lack of payment of a living wage, especially for migrant workers. Without audit results from independent third parties in an accessible report, there is no proof of a truly fair and sustainable production process.
