#PAYUP

Bestseller has not agreed to #PayUp.

11-30-20 – According to the Worker Rights Consortium, Bestseller has reinstated orders placed prior to the pandemic but is demanding discounts of at least 10% on those orders. In order for a brand to move to the PayUp – Yes side of the tracker, they must pay for all orders on time and in full. The reason being is that factories already run on razor-thin margins and even small discounts can cause grave financial distress to suppliers. The company claims suppliers have “agreed” to these cancellations and new payment terms, but it is the position of PayUp Fashion (along with Clean Clothes Campaign and Worker Rights Consortium) that Bestseller is taking advantage of the power imbalance in the supply chain to push financial loses from the pandemic onto its factories and ultimately onto garment workers.

9-8-20 – Bestseller announces it has turned a profit during the pandemic. The company has the financial resources to pay its suppliers in full per the original terms of its contracts.

GO TRANSPARENT

8-18-21 – Bestseller publicly discloses all of its Tier 1 suppliers – its cut and sew factories – and is close to aligning with its commitment to the Transparency Pledge. To receive a “YES” for Action 3 on the PayUp Fashion Tracker, it must be in full compliance with the The Transparency Pledge and a) additionally disclose its tier 2 (fabric mills), tier 3 (yarn and fiber mills) and tier 4 (raw materials) suppliers; b) disclose the wages of the lowest-earning workers at each factory and c) share audit and remediation reports publicly, and make these findings available to the garment workers in the audited factories.

SIGN ENFORCEABLE CONTRACTS

9-2-21 – Bestseller has signed onto the new enforceable Accord agreement on workplace safety. The agreement meets all of our demands, including individual accountability for brands, an independent Secretariat, and expansion into new countries. Thus, we’ve given Bestseller the designation of “Brand Meets Some Conditions” for meeting part of this demand. To receive a “Yes” for Sign Enforceable Contracts, Bestseller will need to overhaul their purchase order contracts to adopt the Buyer Code of Conduct and support a humane pace of production and dignified wages for makers. One of the drivers of workplace safety disasters is brands forcing factories to produce clothing at prices that are too low to support sustainable and ethical production.

8-12-21 – Bestseller has made NO commitment to extend and expand the Bangladesh Accord on Fire & Building Safety, which has protected the lives of millions of garment makers in Bangladesh over eight years. They are on the negative side of our Accord Tracker and their lack of commitment to this binding agreement gets them a “No” under our Sign Enforceable Contracts action.