As calls for greater accountability continue to gain traction in the wake of the #MeToo movement, fashion models are increasingly demanding safer work environments. Cases of sexual harassment and assault are all too common in the fashion industry, in large part because, up until now, perpetrators have been able to commit such violations with impunity.

This might begin to change. On 16 May, the Model Alliance, an advocacy organization founded by model Sara Ziff, launched the RESPECT Program, a legally-binding agreement to protect models from sexual harassment and abuse. It offers a first-of-its kind enforceable Code of Conduct for the fashion industry, with mandatory consequences for brands, modeling agencies, photographers, and others who violate the terms of this Code.  It draws from the success of the Fair Food Program in US agriculture, which has been remarkably effective in addressing gender-based violence in the fields.

These are only a few highlights of RESPECT, which set it apart from parallel initiatives, such as the Responsible Trust for Models (RTM). While RTM echoes the urgent need for a Code of Conduct within the fashion modeling industry, there is unfortunately little reason to believe that it will do much to improve work conditions for fashion models or eradicate the trend of rampant sexual harassment and abuse in the industry.

A core driver of labor violations, not only in fashion, but across sectors and countries, is the intersection between workers’ vulnerability and the lack of accountability for perpetrators of abuse. Workers are less likely to report an experience of sexual harassment if they are already in a precarious financial situation, and when there is no fast, effective and independent complaint mechanism in place. This applies across the board, from garment factories to the runway. While this analysis focuses on RTM, the underlying critique of corporate social responsibility is applicable to other industry-driven initiatives, including Condé Nast’s Code of Conduct and the LVMH Charter. For example, the latter’s FAQs note: “The Charter takes a ‘self-regulation’ approach by all the stakeholders in the fashion industry…”

Voluntary self-regulation won’t eradicate sexual harassment in the fashion modeling industry

The only way to root out the structural problems that make models vulnerable to abuse in the first place is through binding and enforceable agreements with businesses responsible for their work conditions. Such agreements are a foundational element of the RESPECT program. RTM, on the other hand, is emblematic of the failed corporate social responsibility (CSR) model. The twin pillars of CSR are self-disclosure and self-regulation, which are commonly applied through social audits and codified in certification schemes. While there is a certain degree of variation across different corporations’ CSR initiatives, they all have one thing in common: they are voluntary. As such, CSR has been routinely criticized for doing more to protect brands’ reputations, instead of meaningfully improving labor conditions for workers in those same brands’ global supply chains.

Specifically, RTM purports to create transparency in the fashion modelling industry via third-party audits against a ‘gold standard’ that has yet to be finalized. It is unclear how the British Standards Institute (BSI), the company that will conduct audits for RTM, will be in a position to meaningfully address issues of sexual harassment and labor violations. The closest BSI comes to being aligned with RTM’s stated goal is through their “supply chain services,” which broadly identify ‘human rights’ and ‘forced and child labor’ as potential supply chain risks. More importantly, these services are designed to help businesses mitigate risks that could have “potential repercussions on their brand and reputation” or to help clients develop corporate social responsibility programs that can give them a “competitive advantage.” Given that the ineffectiveness of CSR has been spotlighted for two decades, RTM’s choice to work with BSI is not promising.

Among the most salient examples of the failure of CSR was the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1000 people and injured many more. The Rana Plaza complex housed five factories that produced garments for major brands, most of which had developed CSR programs to monitor their suppliers. This was done via factory inspection by the brands themselves or external for-profit social auditing firms. A few months before the collapse, one of the factories housed in the Rana Plaza complex underwent one of these social audits. Not only did the audit report fail to note grave labor abuses – such as forced overtime, discrimination, and violations of freedom of association – but it also failed to identify any problems with the quality or integrity of the building itself.  If brands had been obligated to submit to independent inspections of their factories, along with a requirement to fix the hazards identified, that horrific loss of life might have been prevented.

One major flaw with certification schemes, and CSR programs in general, therefore lies in their voluntary nature. RTM’s certification scheme matters little if the worst companies can opt out of it and continue business as usual with no consequences. And for those who do become RTM-certified, the presumed consequence for non-compliance is losing their certification status.  This is not a sufficient incentive to compel the industry-wide change necessary for eradicating sexual harassment and abuse for fashion models. This raises hard questions about the effectiveness and integrity of the RTM model as a solution for addressing labor rights violations.

Real Consequences for Perpetrators of Abuse

The RESPECT Program, on the other hand, constitutes a meaningful departure from the corporate self-regulation trend and instead embodies the principles of Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR). It sets out obligations for business that are binding and enforceable. This means fashion brands, publishing companies, and modeling agencies that join the program must publicly commit to the Program’s Code of Conduct and enter into a legally-binding contract with the Model Alliance to make sure the Code is enforced. Participants must also require that anyone they do business with – be it freelancers and the agencies representing photographers, make-up artists, hairdressers, and stylists – also comply with the Code, cooperate with monitoring and complaint investigations, and undergo a comprehensive training program. Crucially, the market consequences for perpetrators of harassment or abuse are clear and consistent: Publishing companies and fashion brands will be required to cease working with anyone who repeatedly or severely violates the code of conduct.

Another critical gap in RTM’s model is the absence of a secure and independent complaint system. Instead, RTM proposes setting up a hotline or nominating brand representatives to handle complaints. This fails to take into consideration that many models are currently reluctant to come forward with complaints for fear of retaliation, and therefore need an independent channel through which they can report instances of sexual or labor abuse. The RESPECT Program, on the other hand, will create and run an accessible and trustworthy complaint mechanism with strict protections against retaliation. Through this channel, models’ complaints will be promptly investigated by an independent enforcement body, which will then mandate proper remedies if it determines that any violations occurred. RTM’s initiative does not include a secure complaint mechanism, nor does it offer opportunities to engage with models at the level of designing and enforcing this program. As such, RTM is perpetuating the CSR tradition of sidelining workers’ voices from the very mechanisms that are designed to protect them.

RTM also appears to prioritize training fashion models, instead of ensuring that brands and modeling agencies provide safe work environments for models. After completing a one-week training program – which includes workshops on walking, nutrition, skin, make-up, personal finance and contracting, avoiding social media traps, and becoming brands ambassadors – models can become ‘Gold Standard’ certified. Accredited models then have access to a suite of services related to nutrition, counseling, health, and financial advising. Gold Standard models also become a part of a world-wide Model Club, which offers them perks such as cheaper flights, hotel rooms and gyms, and networking opportunities to meet other models.  It is unclear how such training will result in a safer work environment for models, particularly in the absence of accountability mechanisms.

Modelling agencies can also become RTM certified, though it is not yet clear what that process might entail. Doing so gives them access to the RTM curriculum and services for their models. For the moment, brands are urged to, “be part of the discussion which will lead to an independently audited global standard Certification,” with no mention of what this will mean in terms of their business practices. Ultimately, RTM’s model is one of standards without enforcement, allowing brands and modeling agencies to market themselves as being socially responsible, while giving them the discretion to create and enforce their own rules, and thus maintain the status quo.

Turning the Tide

The RESPECT program is part of a powerful trend that is posing a sharp challenge to CSR. In recent years, the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model has emerged in stark contrast to prevailing industry-led self-regulation schemes. How do we know this model works? WSR has been tested in some of the most oppressive work environments – from the agricultural fields of Florida, where sexual harassment was known to be endemic, to the apparel sweatshops of Bangladesh. In each case, WSR rooted out longstanding labor abuses that, until then, were viewed as inevitable. For example, sexual harassment and abuse have been virtually eliminated in farms participating in the Fair Food Program in an industry previously synonymous with severe and pervasive abuse.

A large part of WSR’s success can be attributed to its foundational premise that workers must be at the head of the table in creating, implementing, and enforcing labor rights initiatives. This is central to the RESPECT Program, which was designed by and for models; after all, models are the ones in the fashion modelling industry who are the most knowledgeable about the contours of abuse as well as the most appropriate solutions to improve their working conditions. They are also the ones who are the most invested in ensuring that their work environment is safe and that their rights are protected.

In contrast to voluntary self-regulation initiatives like RTM, worker-driven efforts such as the RESPECT program offer concrete recourse for models facing abuse and establish a binding system to hold perpetrators – and those who turn a blind eye to them – accountable.

June 2018