The Tier Problem: Why Your Data Stops Where Your Influence Does

Ask most fashion brands how well they know their Tier 1 suppliers — the manufacturers assembling the finished product — and they will point to audit programmes, compliance certifications, and supplier codes of conduct. The picture there is generally tractable. Not always complete, not always current, but navigable. The relationship exists. The commercial leverage exists. The conversation, however imperfect, can be had.

Ask the same brands about Tier 2, the information is thinner, the verification harder, the accountability less direct.