How ethical is our fashion industry when it comes to worker exploitation in their supply chains?

Tearfund has released its assessment of more than 200 clothing brands here in New Zealand.

New Zealand-owned fashion labels rank better than international brands when it comes to addressing worker exploitation in their supply chains.

Though it turns out no company publicly discloses who their suppliers are, a fact that would indicate if workers were being exploited.

Fashion designer and owner of ethical fashion brand Taylor Boutique, Vicki Taylor, told Mike Hosking deep down we all care about the conditions of workers who make our clothes.

"At the end of the day consumerism is driven by the dollar. Nobody feels better than when they can get a bargain and unfortunately it is those bargains that come at what costs, and that's what drives prices down."

Though the breakdown of how much it costs to make clothing from a New Zealand fashion designer is eye opening.

Ms Taylor said if you buy a $20 T shirt, it generally has a 100 percent mark up, plus GST added to it.

She said the basic $20 cost is accounted for by $6 on raw materials, $6 on labour and $8 on overheads.

"So now you take that $6 worth of labour, divide it by five people. There's a cutter, machinist, a finisher who puts the buttons on and things like that, a presser and then there's a person who labels it and sends it out. Can that $6 cover that?"

LISTEN ABOVE AS VICKI TAYLOR SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING

Twelve New Zealand companies scored a median grade of B-, above the international average of C+.

Kowtow and Liminal Apparel are the top New Zealand performers, both scoring As.

Farmers rank lowest with an F, because it hasn’t engaged with the report and has no publicly available information on its supply chain.

Karen Walker is most improved scoring a B+, up from a C last year.

Tearfund said there are three key areas of change across the board from previous years - traceability, transparency and the provision of a living wage.