Steve Madden

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 Steve Madden “Not Good Enough”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It uses some lower-impact materials including recycled materials.
• There’s no evidence it’s taking meaningful action to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in manufacturing.
• There’s no evidence it’s taking meaningful action to reduce water use.
• It’s set a science based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both its direct operations and supply chain but there’s no evidence it is on track.

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

• Little of its supply chain is certified by crucial labour standards that help ensure worker health and safety, living wages, and other rights.
• It received a score of 11-20% in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index.
• There’s no evidence it supports diversity and inclusion in its supply chain.
• 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 Steve Madden “It’s a Start”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It has a formal policy aligned with the Five Freedoms of animal welfare but no clear implementation mechanisms in place.
• It appears to use leather, and decorative feathers.
• It has a policy to source wool from non-mulesed sheep but doesn’t provide any evidence to verify its claims.
• It doesn’t appear to use down, fur, angora, exotic animal skin, or exotic animal hair.
• There’s no evidence it traces any animal-derived materials to the first production stage.

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