Yes, Oliver Bonas is a fast fashion brand.
Oliver Bonas is a UK-based homeware and clothing retailer, founded by white British businessman Oliver Tress in 1993. Today the business is co-owned by Tress and Timothy Hollidge, another white British businessman. Together, they hold the positions of CEO and COO respectively, overseeing 85 stores in the UK with 1134 employees and a typical annual revenue of £75 million.
Oliver Bonas is a fast fashion brand due to the speed of production and lack of transparency around the clothes that it sells.
Fashion Revolution Transparency Rating: N/A
Ethical Consumer Score: N/A
Good On You Sustainability Rating: 1/5
Additional Reasons Why Oliver Bonas Is A Fast Fashion Brand
- Oliver Bonas has next to no information about its supply chain displayed on its website, other than an abstract supplier map and note that it is part of the Ethical Trading Initiative – just like many other fast fashion brands, literally ASOS through to Zara…
- The brand’s Supplier Code of Conduct (which is shared on its Environmental page, rather than its Ethical Trade page), they do not specify a minimum age for workers (other than ‘No Child Labour’) so I assume the ILO‘s minimum age of 14 is what they look for. To me, 14 is a child. I don’t want to wear clothes made by children…
- Despite joining the Living Wage Foundation in 2015, it appears Oliver Bonas is no longer a member and therefore is not paying the living wage to its staff. Despite this, it still asks suppliers to pay a living wage but does not specify what this is in its Supplier Code.
Sustainable Alternatives To Oliver Bonas
If you’re looking to shop somewhere better, I recommend my guide to ethical homewares, and also check out the affordable and mid-range brands listed on my guide to 150+ sustainable fashion brands.
This post is part of a larger guide to UK fast fashion brands, which goes into more detail about the issues with fast fashion, why it will never be sustainable, and how to make your wardrobe more sustainable.
Data for this review is taken from the brand’s website, corporate website, Wikipedia, and sites linked throughout. The Transparency Rating is from Fashion Transparency Index 2021. All information is assumed correct at date of publication.