The 11th Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report, released in October 2026, gave fast-fashion brand Shein an ethics score of 28 out of 100. This score, while below the overall industry average of 31.5, surpassed several established Australian retailers such as Ghanda and Windsor Smith, both of which scored zero. Shein's higher score was partly attributed to its cooperation in providing information for the assessment.

This finding matters to consumers who increasingly consider ethical and environmental impacts in their purchasing decisions. It challenges common perceptions of fast fashion brands versus traditional retailers, showing transparency can affect assessment outcomes. The report reveals a broader stagnation in ethical progress and persistent issues within global fashion supply chains.

What the records show

The 2026 Ethical Fashion Report, compiled by Baptist World Aid Australia, evaluated 138 companies representing 543 brands across five supply chain topics, including worker protection and environmental sustainability. The average score for all companies was 31.5 out of 100. Shein's score of 28 placed it above Australian companies like Myer, which scored 20, Seafolly with 1, and Boardriders, which scored 3. Ghanda and Windsor Smith received scores of zero. Many Australian brands, including Myer, Seafolly, Ghanda, Windsor Smith, and Boardriders, did not supply extra information and were assessed solely on publicly available data. Companies that did not participate in the research project were assessed only on their publicly available information, which tends to yield a lower ranking. Shein, however, supplied additional information for its assessment.

The report's findings

Ethical progress within the fashion industry has largely stagnated, with the average score improving by only 0.2 points since 2024. Critical issues persist: 87% of companies failed to provide evidence of living wages in their supply chains. Only 9% demonstrated union representation or collective bargaining in most final-stage facilities. Half of the assessed companies had no targets for reducing supply chain emissions. While the use of sustainable fibers increased from 30 percent to 38 percent over two years, this was offset by a rise in overall fiber production, particularly petroleum-based synthetics. Australia holds the distinction of being the world's highest consumer of textiles per person. The data collected for this report covered the period from 2024 to 2026. In 2024, Australia surpassed the United States as the world's biggest consumer of clothing.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the specific reasons why certain Australian retailers declined to provide additional information to Baptist World Aid for their assessment. The detailed nature of the additional information provided by Shein and how it specifically contributed to its score remains unelaborated in the provided evidence.