Palladium

Palladium is owned by Xtep International. Our “Planet” rating evaluates brands based on the environmental policies in their supply chains, from carbon emissions and wastewater to business models and product circularity. Here we rate Palladium “Not Good Enough”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It uses some lower impact materials including recycled materials.
• It’s set an absolute target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its direct operations but it's unclear whether it is on track.
• There’s no evidence it’s taking meaningful action to reduce water use.
• There’s no evidence it’s taking actions to protect biodiversity in its supply chain.

Workers’ rights are central to our “People” rating, which assesses brands’ policies and practices on everything from child labour to living wages and gender equality. Here we rate Palladium “Not Good Enough”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• Most of its final production stage happens in China, an extreme risk country for labour abuse.
• It partly traces its supply chain including the final and some of the second production stages.
• Its Code of Conduct covers ILO Four Fundamental Freedoms principles.
• The brand claims to audit some of its supply chain but doesn’t specify what percentage.
• There’s no evidence it ensures workers are paid living wages in its supply chain.
• During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it did not disclose adequate policies or safeguards to protect workers in its supply chain from the virus.

Brands’ animal welfare policies and, where applicable, how well they trace their animal-derived products are the focus of our “Animals” rating. Here we rate Palladium “Not Good Enough”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• There’s no evidence it has an animal welfare policy.
• It appears to use leather, wool, down and shearling.
• It doesn’t appear to use fur, angora, exotic animal hair, or exotic animal skin.

Based on all publicly available information we’ve reviewed, we rate Palladium “Not Good Enough” overall.