The majority of international fashion brands are still not ensuring that workers in their supply chains receive a living wage, according to a new German study.

Around 97 per cent of leading brands — including H&M, Inditex, Mango, Gap, Nike and Primark — were found to pay supply chain workers below living-wage levels, despite varying levels of transparency and public pledges on wage policies.

The report showed that companies based in the United States perform the worst, with 68 firms failing to guarantee fair wages for workers involved in their global production networks.

The research, carried out by the Berlin School of Business and Innovation (BSBI) and published last month, drew on data from fashionchecker.org covering 219 companies in 28 countries.

The assessment focused on five areas: supply chain transparency, actual payment of living wages, the existence of a living-wage action plan, public commitments on wages, and disclosure of freedom of association and collective bargaining coverage.

Describing the results as ‘alarming,’ the report revealed that 213 of the 219 companies surveyed still pay less than a living wage.

Only six companies — from the US, UK, Germany and the Netherlands — met the minimum scoring threshold by paying even 1–25 per cent of their workers a living wage. None of the companies reached the top categories for wage provision.

Although 58 companies have publicly declared an intention to introduce living wages, only five — Dutch brands Zeeman and Hema, US companies Patagonia Inc and PVH, and Italy’s OVS Spa — have developed concrete action plans to achieve this.

Disclosure of freedom of association and collective bargaining agreements remains extremely limited, with only 20 companies publishing any information, four of which are German.

The report noted that the German fashion sector has made early improvements in supply chain transparency compared with several other countries.

The study also evaluated how openly brands disclose their production sites and conditions. On average, the companies achieved only 2.69 out of 5 stars for supply chain transparency.

Top-scoring countries included Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, Denmark and Belgium, all receiving the maximum 5-star rating. The Netherlands followed with 4 stars, while Germany scored 3.53 stars.

At the bottom were China, India, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, each receiving just one star.

Despite some progress, particularly around transparency, the continued failure to provide living wages remains a significant ethical issue for the global fashion sector, the report emphasised.

‘The fashion industry thrives on creativity and global influence, but it still falls short of its most basic duty — ensuring fair and dignified pay for workers,’ said Gemma Vallet, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at BSBI and a specialist in fashion and brand management.

‘A living wage is not an extra; it is the foundation of ethical business,’ Vallet said.

She said that the findings highlight how rarely financial success in the fashion sector aligns with fair labour practices: ‘213 out of 219 companies still do not pay a living wage — a global failure.’

Vallet also pointed to a recent survey showing that 40 per cent of German consumers want greater transparency across the supply chain.

This gap between consumer expectations and corporate behaviour demonstrates the urgent need for change, she said.