FatFace and its owner Next are both well recognised high street clothing brands. But how do their ethics stack up?
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Learn more about our company profiles →Our research highlights several ethical issues with FatFace and its owner Next plc, including a lack of animal welfare policies, likely use of tax avoidance strategies, and allegations that their approach to suppliers has exacerbated workers’ rights issues.
Below we outline some of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and FatFace’s overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
FatFace owner Next plc, has a mixed record when it comes to workers’ rights.
The company has a strong supplier code of conduct, outlining the most basic workers’ rights expectations, such as no forced labour and freedom to join a union or organisation. It has also published details of many of its suppliers, including those weaving and dyeing fabric for its products. This kind of transparency is vital in allowing human rights and workers’ organisations to hold the company to account.
However, Next has also faced allegations that its buying practices are undermining workers’ rights. Clothing brands are known for cancelling orders, suddenly reducing prices paid to factories, refusing to pay for goods, or delaying payments by more than three months. These kinds of practices make factories less stable and reduce their profit margins – in turn eroding working conditions.
In January 2023, the University of Aberdeen Business School and campaign group Transform Trade published a study on buying practices imposed on Bangladeshi suppliers during Covid-19. Next was said to be among the global brands mentioned by suppliers for having the “highest proportion of unfair practices,” the study said.
In December 2025, Climate Rights International also published a report showing the impact of extreme heat, in a warming climate, for garment factory workers. The report – which was based on interviews – documented the experiences of workers in Karachi, who described "how escalating temperatures, inadequate workplace protections, and systemic labor rights abuses intersect and together threaten workers’ health, livelihoods, and basic rights".
The factories were traced to many brands including Next. The brand told Climate Rights International that it had adopted heat-stress guidance for its contracted factories in November 2024. It requires indoor places to have “safe, comfortable, and legal” temperatures, and states that workers must have access to cool, clean drinking water.
The report stated, however: "While all of these companies have made public commitments to support workers’ fundamental rights, those commitments are belied by the lived reality of workers on the ground."
Next received a low score in Ethical Consumer’s workers rating overall.
Compared to other high street brands, Next plc (FatFace’s owner) performs reasonably well when it comes to the climate.
The company reports on its emissions, including those from its supply chain – the largest portion. It has also set targets for cutting emissions, which have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative – the leading certification body for corporate climate goals.
The financial ethics of Next plc raise concerns.
Next owns subsidiaries in multiple tax havens, including Guernsey and Jersey – which are particularly high risk for tax avoidance purposes. None of the companies appeared to be serving local populations, and Next has not published an explanation for them.
The company stated: “Next is committed to paying the right amount of tax, in the right place and at the right time.” However, this was not considered to be a clear policy prohibiting tax avoidance. The company therefore scored poorly in Ethical Consumer’s tax conduct rating.
Next plc also lost marks for excessive director’s pay. In 2025/26, its highest paid director, CEO Lord Wolfson, received £7,426,000.
FaceFace and its owner Next sell clothing that contains multiple animal products, such as leather, wool and down.
Next published some positive policies on its Animal Welfare Policy and Responsible Sourcing webpage. For example, it did not buy merino wool where sheep had been subject to mulesing – a process in which part of the sheep’s skin is carved away to avoid flies laying their eggs in the wool.
However, it did not have adequate policies for other issues. For example, Next used some down that was not certified to the Responsible Down Standard, despite widespread issues in the industry, such as the live plucking of birds.
The company also used virgin leather without addressing animal welfare in its leather supply chain, and sold silk with no certification or standard.
FatFace and Next received a middling score in the animal products rating overall.
The text above was written in September 2026, and most research was conducted in August 2026.
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