New Findings

ACT’s 2025 Accountability and Monitoring Report tracks purchasing practices addressing wage risks in the supply chains of global brands and retailers

ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) today released its Accountability and Monitoring Report 2025, a comprehensive evaluation of how signatory brands are progressing in their commitments to transform purchasing practices that can influence wage risks and working conditions in global garment, textile, and footwear supply chains.

Based on a “360-degree feedback” model triangulating data from brands and suppliers, the report presents a nuanced picture of an industry in transition. In 2025, 1,049 brand employees from 18 signatory brands responded to the Brand Survey, while 1,055 suppliers from more than 70 production countries contributed 1,606 responses to the Supplier Survey. New findings show positive momentum across several brands’ and retailers’ purchasing practices, while supplier feedback tests where gaps between commitment and implementation remain.  

“This latest report builds on progress seen in previous reporting cycles and gives a clearer picture of where ACT brands are advancing and where more work is still needed,” highlights Mira Neumaier, ACT’s Executive Director. “Crucially, that progress is not only reported by brands themselves but tested against the views of suppliers and brand employees. That gives stronger, data‑based evidence of what is changing in practice and tests whether brand commitments are being felt on the ground.” 

The key findings identify significant progress. The strongest results were seen in areas such as sourcing strategy and responsible exit practices. There are signs of progress also in labour costing and planning systems, though challenges remain in forecast accuracy and the consistent ring-fencing of labour costs. Suppliers identified price negotiation, forecasting and capacity planning, sourcing strategy, buyer-supplier relations, and terms of payment as the purchasing practices most important for enabling higher wages. At the same time, the report highlights areas where supplier experience does not fully match corporate reporting, including labour costing and some payment-related practices. This gap underlines the importance of transparent measurement that includes supplier perspectives when assessing whether brand commitments are being lived up to in practice. 

Taken together, the 2025 findings suggest that ACT brands are making significant progress, but also that credible accountability depends on looking beyond policy commitments to how purchasing practices are experienced in supplier relationships. 

Mira Neumaier emphasises: “What matters is that this is not a static compliance exercise but a collective, learning‑based process. Reporting progress through ACT serves as a benchmark for the industry. Its primary objective is to move beyond abstract commitments by providing a concrete evidence base to facilitate fact-based conversations across global supply chains –  a crucial building block of the ACT Supply Chain Industrial Relations Framework.”

ACT’s approach is based on the conviction, aligned with ILO conclusions on wage policies including living wages, that the most effective, sustainable and reliable route to improved wages and working conditions is collective bargaining, supported by responsible purchasing practices and consistent respect for freedom of association. Within this model, purchasing practices are not treated as a box-ticking exercise, but as practical tools for supporting better wage outcomes, sound industrial relations and more resilient supply chains.