Curriculum · Sustainable Brands
Supply Chain Transparency
Most clothing labels are designed to tell you as little as possible. 'Made in Italy' might mean 6 countries of work, 1 of which was Italy. Welcome to the world of supply chain transparency.
Tier 1, 2, 3, 4 — what supply chain levels mean
When we say 'supply chain,' we mean the whole chain of factories and farms that make a piece of clothing. Most fashion brands divide it into 4 tiers:
- Tier 1: Final assembly (cut and sew). Where the shirt is stitched together. - Tier 2: Fabric production (weaving, knitting, dyeing). - Tier 3: Yarn spinning. - Tier 4: Raw material (cotton field, oil well for polyester, sheep farm for wool).
Most brands only know — or only disclose — Tier 1. They know which factory sewed the garment but not who spun the yarn or grew the cotton. That gap is where most labour and environmental abuse happens, because it's invisible to anyone outside the chain.
Why 'Made in Italy' can hide 6 countries
Country-of-origin labels follow a rule called 'last substantial transformation.' That means a garment can be labelled with the country where the LAST major step happened — even if every step before that was somewhere else.
Example: cotton grown in Pakistan, spun in India, woven in China, dyed in Bangladesh, cut in Romania, and final-stitched in Italy. The label legally says 'Made in Italy.'
This isn't always sneaky — sometimes brands genuinely don't know their full chain. But it does mean a 'Made in Italy' tag tells you almost nothing about the people who actually made most of the garment.
Brands like Everlane, Patagonia, and Reformation have started publishing 'production maps' that show every factory, every country, every tier. It's still rare. But it's the gold standard.
The Fashion Transparency Index
Every year since 2017, an organisation called Fashion Revolution publishes the Fashion Transparency Index. They score the world's 250 biggest fashion brands from 0–100% on how much they disclose about their supply chains.
The results are humbling. The 2023 index found: - The average score was 26%. - Only 12% of brands publish a list of their raw material suppliers (Tier 4). - Only 24% publish how many of their workers earn a living wage. - Some massive brands score under 10%.
Brands consistently scoring well (50%+): OVS, Gildan, Kmart Australia, Esprit, H&M (yes, despite their other problems, they actually do disclose). Brands consistently scoring badly: Many luxury houses (LVMH brands), and most ultra-fast-fashion companies.
How to dig in yourself
If you want to know where your clothes really come from, here's the workflow:
1. Check the brand's 'About,' 'Sustainability,' or 'Transparency' page. Look for a factory list, a production map, or supplier names. 2. Search 'Fashion Transparency Index [year]' and look up the brand's score. 3. Check Good On You for an overall grade. 4. If you find nothing, that itself is information. Brands hide what doesn't make them look good. 5. Email or DM the brand and ask: 'Where do you spin your yarn? Where is your raw material from?' A few brands actually reply, and the response (or silence) tells you a lot.
The goal isn't to become a private investigator — it's to make the brands you support most often pass a basic transparency test.
Key takeaways
- Supply chains have 4 tiers: assembly, fabric, yarn, raw material. Most brands only disclose Tier 1.
- 'Made in Italy' can legally mean only the final stitch happened in Italy.
- The Fashion Transparency Index scores 250 brands annually — the average is just 26%.
- Only 12% of major brands publish their Tier 4 (raw material) suppliers.
- Production maps from brands like Patagonia and Everlane are the gold standard.
Try this
Map your t-shirt's tiers
Pick one t-shirt. Try to find information for each tier: where was it sewn (Tier 1), where was the fabric made (Tier 2), where was the yarn spun (Tier 3), where was the cotton grown (Tier 4). Most brands only let you find Tier 1. That gap is the lesson.
Score your brands
Pick 5 brands you wear. Search 'Fashion Transparency Index 2023' (or latest). Look up each brand's score out of 100. Make a leaderboard. Rank from most to least transparent. Use this to decide who deserves your money next.
Email a brand
Pick a brand you like and email or DM them this question: 'Hi! For a school project, can you tell me where the cotton in your basic t-shirts is grown, and where the yarn is spun?' Track responses (or silence) over a week. The reaction is itself part of the answer.
What does Tier 4 of a fashion supply chain refer to?
Tier 4 is raw material — where the actual fibre starts. Tier 1 is the final assembly factory (cut and sew), Tier 2 is fabric production, Tier 3 is yarn spinning, Tier 4 is the cotton field, oil well, or sheep farm. Most brands only know and disclose Tier 1, which is where the transparency gap begins.