Asos to share approved factories list next month

London - Online pure-player Asos is set to publish a list of all mapped and approved factories it uses to produce its own brand on its website by March 31, as part of its pledge to supply chain transparency.

"We recognise the importance of this for supply chain due diligence and workers' rights issues," said Asos in a statement. In addition, Asos is currently in the process of developing an in-house team within its sourcing team to support its third-party brand suppliers with their ethical and sustainability performance.

The London-based retailer also aims to map its primary and secondary process subcontractors by the end of 2018 and extend its mapping to its fabric mills by 2019 and raw materials, or key commodities by 2020.

At the moment Asos is also developing a confidential worker hotline for its factories in Turkey to give workers the freedom to give feedback in their working conditions using their mobile phones without fear of repercussions. Once the survey system has been fine-tuned it is set to be rolled out to other areas by the end of the year.

Close to 90 percent of Asos's 498 supplier factories are located in Bulgaria, China, India, Romania, Turkey and the UK.

Photo: Courtesy of Asos