Fashion’s Supply Chain Has a Reputation Problem, and RepRisk Has the Data to Prove It
The global fashion industry has a supply chain issue—and it’s not just about fabric shortages or logistics delays. It’s about human rights.
According to new research from RepRisk, the data-as-a-service (DaaS) leader in reputational risk intelligence, two-thirds of all supply chain risk incidents in the fashion sector over the past five years stem from social issues—namely, poor working conditions and human rights violations.
The data, published in the inaugural release of RepRisk’s Anatomy of Supply Chain Risks series, sheds light on a structural crisis at the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer-facing industries. With 791 out of 16,968 global supply chain risk events tied to fashion, the sector accounts for 5% of total global incidents—an alarming signal for an industry that thrives on image and public trust.
Human Rights Risks Aren’t a Side Story—They’re the Main Event
The insight is timely and damning: in an era where fashion brands preach sustainability and ESG values, their global supply chains continue to be dogged by labor abuses, exploitative contracts, and substandard working conditions.
“Fashion’s supply chains have never been easy—and today’s global pressures make them even tougher,” said Philipp Aeby, CEO and Co-founder of RepRisk. “It is time for transparency.”
He’s not wrong. With AI-driven monitoring systems and daily multilingual document analysis (RepRisk scans 2.5 million documents a day across 150,000 sources in 23 languages), there’s now less room for plausible deniability. ESG blindness is no longer a strategy—it’s a liability.
Retail Tops the Supply Chain Risk List
While fashion ranks high, it’s the retail sector as a whole that’s facing the sharpest risk escalation. Retail accounted for 8,923 risk incidents globally over the last five years, with incidents more than doubling since 2020 and jumping another 22% in just the past year.
The financial services sector takes second place, with a 32% increase in incidents since 2020. Food and beverage follows, with a more modest—but still notable—16% rise.
The message? No industry is immune. But sectors with sprawling, outsourced, or opaque supply chains—especially those reliant on large contractor ecosystems in emerging markets—are most exposed.
ESG Risk Is a Data Problem—Until It’s a Business Crisis
RepRisk’s research isn’t just a warning to procurement teams—it’s a red flag for the C-suite. In today’s landscape, supply chains aren’t just operational—they’re reputational. A misstep in one factory, in one country, can ripple across continents via consumer backlash, regulatory scrutiny, or investor divestment.
And the pressure is only growing. With intersecting global crises—from climate change and energy transitions to geopolitical instability and trade wars—companies are finding their risk vectors are no longer siloed. Social, environmental, and governance risks increasingly compound one another.
“Daily monitoring powered by data that effectively combines human intelligence with AI… enables fashion and other companies not only to build resilient value chains but also to maintain stakeholder trust,” Aeby emphasized.
That’s RepRisk’s pitch—and its proof point. The firm tracks 100+ ESG risk factors across 350,000+ entities globally, combining human-labeled data with AI-enhanced analysis to produce what is widely regarded as the most comprehensive dataset in the ESG risk intelligence space.
Private Companies Under the Radar—But Not Invisible
One particularly telling detail in RepRisk’s report: 87% of the companies linked to supply chain risks were private, not publicly listed.
That matters. While public companies face increasing investor and regulatory pressure to disclose supply chain risks and ESG performance, private firms often operate in the shadows—and yet are key nodes in the global production ecosystem.
RepRisk’s “outside-in” methodology—meaning it doesn’t rely on self-reported data—gives regulators, banks, and brands a rare view into these blind spots, and it’s likely to play a bigger role as ESG scrutiny expands across private markets.
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