Bershka

Is Bershka ethical and sustainable? 

Bershka is a low-ranking brand in The Good Shopping Guide’s ethical ratings for Fashion brands.

Bershka is a fast fashion brand owned by Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A (Inditex Group). Inditex is one of the biggest fast fashion group in the world. Bershka receives a poor Good Shopping Guide score in our Ethical Fashion Retailers Ratings Table. Although Bershka has not yet met our Ethical Benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

In what areas does Bershka perform well? 

Inditex performs well for its extensive and thorough Environmental Report. Inditex’s environmental strategies include roadmaps for reduced water use, an energy strategy, a biodiversity strategy, and goals for 100% of electricity from renewables by 2022, 100% ‘more sustainable’ cotton (Organic certified, Better Cotton, and/or recycled cotton) by 2023, and Net Zero by 2040. Such extensive sustainability reporting allows consumers and activist groups to hold Inditex to account for its environmental impact and action.

Inditex’s thorough reporting continues to its Code of Conduct and Ethical Trading Initiative membership. Inditex publishes its Modern Slavery policy on its website, which means that consumers can track companies’ commitments to workers’ rights, forced labour and child labour in its supply chain.

In what areas does Bershka perform poorly? 

Despite Bershka’s progress, there is still room for improvement. The brand was marked down under our Human Rights and People criteria.

According to Oxfam’s 2019 study, “Made in Poverty – The True Cost of Fashion.” 100% of Bangladeshi garment workers interviewed in this report did not receive a living wage, 90% of them could not afford to feed themselves and their families until their next payday, and 70% could not afford to pay for medical care when they became ill or injured. In Vietnam, 99% did not receive a living wage, and seven out of ten of the women who were surveyed said their wages did not cover their necessities.

Subsidiaries of Inditex also scored the lowest in Oxfam Australia’s company tracker for brands who pay (or are trying to pay!) workers a living wage.

Additionally, the Tailored Wages report from the Clean Clothes Campaign examines comments from 32 renowned clothing companies regarding their progress in instituting a livable wage for the people who make their clothes. The audit gave Inditex the lowest possible rating since it failed to provide any proof that any of the people who made its clothes were paid a decent wage anywhere in the globe. This is shocking and simply not good enough.

How can Bershka brand improve its Ethical Rating?

The Good Shopping Guide score results from multiple ethical criteria in relation to Bershka. Unfortunately, Bershka is a fast fashion brand built on quick turnaround (sometimes as little as 15 days from design to distribution). When workers are expected to produce large quantities of clothes so quickly, it is a hard task for brands to pay employees fairly. But it is necessary. To reach our minimum Ethical Benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Bershka and its parent company, Inditex, have some issues to resolve, including its treatment of workers and adherence to Human Rights.

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.