River Island

How ethical is River Island? 

River Island is a low-ranking brand in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Fashion Retailers Ratings Table.

River Island is a London-based fashion retail brand, owned by River Island Clothing Co. Ltd. River Island receives a poor Good Shopping Guide score in our Ethical Fashion Retailers Ratings Table. Although River Island has not yet met our Ethical Benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

In what areas does River Island perform poorly? 

Despite River Island’s progress, there is still lots of room for improvement. The brand was marked down under our criteria for Human Rights (our People category), due to several incidents of wage theft, unsafe working conditions and paying illegally low wages.

The problem of ‘sweat shops’ or poorly paid garment employees, working in unsafe conditions, is a well-documented one in the world of fast fashion and trend-driven brands, such as River Island. The brand came under fire in 2021, when a report revealed that millions of workers in the garment industry have been denied the wages that are legally owed to them for work already completed.

In what areas does River Island perform well? 

After researching River Island, we have found that this brand performs well under our criteria for the Environment and Animal Welfare. For its Environmental Report and Better Cotton Initiative status, River Island has been rated with top marks. This kind of environmental progress is encouraging to see from a large high-street brand.

How can River Island brand improve its Ethical Rating?

The Good Shopping Guide score results from multiple ethical criteria. (See our ‘How We Rate’ page to find out more about our research methodology.) To reach our minimum Ethical Benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, River Island has some issues to resolve, including its Human Rights violations and wage theft.

If your fashion brand values ethics and sustainability, why not check out The Good Shopping Guide‘s Ethical Accreditation? Increase customer and investor confidence and stand out from the greenwash.