Rethinking value: ‘radical transparency’ in fashion

ABSTRACT

For fashion, which is connected so intimately to our bodies, senses, emotions, and memories, value is more than a matter of cost. In order to illustrate the true value of fashion ‘radical transparency’ is framed as a tool through which brands can counter supply chain opacity and tell stories about the production of their garments. However, models of transparency often conceal more than they reveal. This article unpacks the concept of ‘radical transparency’ by exploring the differing approaches taken by three fashion brands: two large international brands and one boutique Australian label. It asks: how might radical transparency contribute to rethinking fashion value? By critically analysing the capacity for fashion businesses to communicate complex details of their supply chains to consumers who may suggest they want such information yet are also frequently overwhelmed by it, this article demonstrates the potential as well as the limits of transparency. It argues that while the degree to which models of transparency are ‘radical’ varies significantly, such methods of disclosure nevertheless introduce an important sense of openness to an industry otherwise defined by dislocated and difficult to trace modes of production.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethical fashion
• fashion activism
• radical transparency
• sustainable fashion
• value systems

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Other studies of transparency in the fashion industry have focused on the role of transparency in changing business behaviour (Doorey 2011; Mol 2015) or consumer purchasing practices (Egels-Zandén and Hansson 2016; Kang and Hustvedt 2014).

2. Brands often claim to lack precise information about where their clothes are made. Indeed, following the Rana Plaza disaster, multiple companies expressed surprise when they found out that their garments were manufactured there (Le Baron, Lister, and Dauvergne 2017, 968).

3. Based on a questionnaire and publicly available information, the Index is framed as a research and communication tool, not an official audit.

4. The exposé that revealed this, published in the midst of global Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, also exposed allegations of racism and union busting rife within the company (Testa, Friedman, and Paton 2020).

5. Everlane retained this rating of ‘Not Good Enough’ in the 2021 review of the brand, in which the Good On You website stated: ‘for the conscious consumer, Everlane is out.’

6. This statement was also made in a 2017 article for The New Yorker, where Lizzie Widdicombe wrote: ‘In some ways, the most radical thing about Everlane was its marketing.’

7. For other examples of transparency in Melbourne fashion brands see: Arnsdorf (winner of the inaugural Honourable Mention for Sustainability at the National Designer Awards, hosted by the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF) in 2019), Lois Hazel and ELK, among others.

8. Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) is an independent accreditation body that works with Australian textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) businesses to ensure legal compliance across their local supply chains.

9. The concept of having ‘nothing to hide’ is a recurrent theme in narratives of brand transparency. When, in mid-2000, Nike announced its ‘Transparency 101ʹ initiative, which would begin providing public accounts of some factory audit reports (a move that culminated in the disclosure of the company’s full factory list in 2005), Nike’s Director of Global Issues at the time, Vada Manger, stated that this transparency was necessary to ‘send the message that we have nothing to hide’ (cited in Doorey 2011: 593).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Harriette Richards

Dr Harriette Richards is a Research Associate in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne working on the ARC Future Fellowship project ‘Modernism, Cosmopolitanism and Consumer Culture’ (2018–2021) with Professor Natalya Lusty. She is co-founder of the Critical Fashion Studies research group and is currently working on projects investigating modern slavery and transparency in the Australian fashion industry and entrepreneurial experience at the digital frontier. Her work has been published in a range of journals including, most recently, Cultural Studies, Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty and Gender, Work & Organization.