Liv Simpliciano, Policy & Research Manager at Fashion Revolution, talks to WikiRate about her views on and relationship with data.
1. How many years have you been working with data?
I suppose if we include my salad days, probably over a decade looking at my work at various NGOs and research institutions.
2. What kind of data do you work with?
Through the Global Fashion Transparency Index (FTI), which assesses and ranks 250 of the world’s largest brands and retailers according to the level of information they disclose about their human rights and environmental policies, practices, procedures, outcomes and impacts, I work with transparent information. So, the data we collect only relates to what brands disclose in the public domain.
In the past, I have worked with similar data. For example, I have worked at a technology company working to create a benchmarking system for suppliers, looking at the publicly available information they share. In addition, I used to write reports for the United States Department of State on the human rights, socio-economic and trade related risks to human trafficking across sub-Saharan Africa which required the consultation of many different public-facing resources. I have also evaluated brands’ disclosures to check for compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act. Much of my experience with data has been predicated on transparency.
3. How do you use data in your work today?
We use the outcomes of the Global Fashion Transparency Index to form the basis of calls for new legislation to regulate the fashion industry, to leverage our activism and put greater pressure on brands and retailers.
Critically, it’s not just for us to use — it’s for anyone. Many stakeholders leverage our data: workers’ rights organizations, trade unions, academics, journalists, investors, and brands/retailers.
Increasingly, we understand that our methodology is even being used outside of the fashion industry to serve as a trajectory of where they should be in terms of transparency.
4. Where do you get your data, any recommendations?
The data we collect with the FTI must come directly from the brand website or a third-party website, so long as there’s a link from the brand website. This is because we believe all information to hold a brand or retailer accountable as and when a human rights or environmental issue arises should be easily found on the brand’s website.
Our theory of change is that transparency is a key first step in achieving accountability and change across the fashion industry. Transparency is the bare minimum that we should expect from brands, but it remains elusive across much of the industry.
5. If you could wave a magic wand, what data would you wish for?
My list is long — everything required to hold major brands and retailers accountable!
Considering the average overall score for the FTI is just 24%, I’ve got a hefty wish! With the FTI, we see abysmal disclosure when it comes to brands’ purchasing practices, the percentage of workers in the supply chain receiving a living wage (just 4% of brands disclose this!) and brands’ suppliers’ wastewater test results (only 11% disclose this information!) The list goes on.
6. What’s your top tip when working with data and it gets frustrating?
I think commiserating with colleagues is hugely important! With the Fashion Transparency Index, we deal with 60,000+ data points across 250 brands. As you can imagine, sometimes we need to correct mistakes and update our dataset against tight timelines. I think having a supportive team is so important — no issue we face is any single person’s. We work collaboratively, from all angles, to solve the problem. Supportive colleagues, patience and diligence are the key.
7. Do you have a data project or resource you’d like to share with the world?
I’ve been going on about it this whole time so it would be wonderful to share our Global Fashion Transparency Index. We have published it annually since 2017 and we are proud of the progress we have made in the industry. The FTI has become a trusted resource for civil society, media, industry practitioners and investors. It is widely anticipated by sustainability professionals within leading brands who view it as a ‘tool’ to benchmark against their peers and to influence new areas for potential public disclosure. Alongside this, the release of brand performance data and wide communication of it to civil society organizations, the media, company investors and consumers brings attention to industry shortcomings across a variety of human rights and environmental issues like carbon emissions, waste and water management, living wages and traceability of where and under what conditions our clothes are made. Through our research, key stakeholders are better-equipped to advocate for change and hold the largest power brokers in the fashion industry to account.
We are lucky to have WikiRate as a data partner who have since 2020, onboarded underlying data and sources of the Fashion Transparency Index onto their platform. This partnership allows us to share our data with the world under an open data license and makes it possible for organizations to seamlessly integrate the Index into their campaigning. Similarly, our data is integrated with Clean Clothes Campaigns’ FashionChecker which shines a spotlight on living wages disclosure in the industry and uses on-the-ground teams to verify brand claims to understand if brands are living up to their commitments.
8. Lastly, what’s your favorite joke or quote about data?
I don’t know if this counts but as the data I work with is with regards to transparency, this quote is a favorite of mine:
“Secrecy is the linchpin of abuse of power…its enabling force. Transparency is the only real antidote.” Glen Greenwald, Attorney and journalist.
