EcoVadis assessed nearly 3,000 suppliers to UK retailers, 242 of which were based in countries classified as high risk for labour and human rights abuses.
While 72% of these suppliers had a written human rights policy in place, 56% had no formal channel available for workers to safely report labour-rights issues such as unpaid wages, harassment or forced labour conditions.
Only 61% had implemented concrete measures such as worker training, whistleblower channels or third-party audits to back up their policy commitments.
EcoVardis also says the share of consumer goods sourced into the UK from high-risk countries has increased 22% in the past two years. It warns this brings more workers into supply chains where the risk of exploitation is highest.
“Having a grievance channel on paper is not enough. What matters is whether workers trust it, use it and see action taken when they do. That is the difference between a system that protects workers and one that simply ticks a box,” said Antoine Heuty, worker rights expert and senior vice president for human rights at EcoVardis.
“A human rights policy is the starting point, not the destination. Our data shows the protections that workers need the most, such as accessible grievance channels, are the weakest precisely in the parts of the supply chain where the risk is the highest. That gap is where due diligence needs to be operational, not aspirational.”
EcoVardis says its findings should serve as a wake-up call for retailers to strengthen visibility across their supply chains and ensure effective grievance mechanisms are in place.
Speaking at a British Retail Consortium (BRC) event, where the analysis was first revealed, Lou Sherry, BRC policy executive – sustainability, added: "UK retailers are committed to identifying harms to workers in their direct operations and supply chains, and have made notable progress in collaboratively scaling up meaningful, worker-centred grievance mechanisms.
“However, the evidence clearly shows that systemic barriers remain to implementing effective due diligence processes across all supply chains.”
“Robust legislation in the UK is essential to move beyond the limits of voluntary action and bring global suppliers in line with industry expectations. The BRC and our members have long campaigned for the introduction of Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (mHREDD), and we urge the UK Government to commit to mHREDD legislation in its review of Responsible Business Conduct."
