BESTSELLER disagrees with the claims made against our company and our working methods in TV 2's broadcast, and we strongly repudiate the image that the programmes attempt to portray.

The broadcast shows that TV 2 has not sufficiently tried to understand the nuances of the well-known conditions and issues in the fashion industry. This results in a black-and-white narrative that openly misrepresents reality.

Critical journalism can undoubtedly help keep businesses on their toes, which is why we continuously engage with journalists, even those working on negatively angled stories. We strive to answer their questions factually and comprehensively.

We expect the same decency and fairness from the media in question if we are to participate.

This was not the case with TV 2's broadcast, which followed a long process where we saw methods and behaviour from journalists that are far from what we associate with fair and proper journalism – as well as practices that, in our opinion, contradict the integrity and ethics fundamental to journalism.

During the process, we experienced our products being purchased with the intent to be deliberately damaged, returned with surveillance devices, and monitored – without any understanding of the impact this could have on ordinary customers who might later find a surveillance device in their jacket or diaper bag.

Based on our own experiences along with what others have told us about the journalists' approach and motives, we could not trust that our participation would be treated in a way that would give a fair or accurate picture of our company.

We have therefore chosen not to contribute to the broadcast.

We will, however, gladly participate in any subsequent media coverage of the topics focused on in the broadcast.

In TV 2's programme, we are accused of deliberate greenwashing.

It is common knowledge that companies across industries can make mistakes when communicating about sustainability, and sustainability communication has been a topic of increased focus in recent years. It is clear that everybody is continuously learning, and over time we are developing a common language for how these topics should be addressed.

It is about finding the right balance where companies do not mislead but still meet the expectation of providing consumers with simple information and communication to make informed choices about the products they buy.

BESTSELLER has no desire to present our products or ambitions as better than they actually are. We believe in truthful communication based on data that reflects our actual efforts and the visions we actively work towards.

We have internal processes and workflows to ensure that our communication complies with regulations in the area.

In Denmark, we follow the updated guidelines of the Consumer Ombudsman, and in BESTSELLER we have an internal task force, where legal counsel and specialists in sustainability, marketing, and communication meet weekly to qualify our brands' materials. This task force was established to avoid greenwashing.

With 25,000 colleagues and more than 20 brands, all with their own websites, products, brand books, and social media, mistakes can happen. We correct such mistakes when we become aware of them.

Other examples have likewise shown that all companies can make mistakes when communicating about sustainability. We can too.

The broadcast addresses a well-debated topic in the fashion industry about the use of recycled polyester.

We want to address the misunderstanding that BESTSELLER is using plastic bottles sourced from an existing, properly functioning return system. This is not the case.

The vast majority of plastic bottles used to create recycled polyester in our products originate in China. There, a proper system for recycling bottles deemed safe for food and beverage use doesn't exist, meaning that most of these bottles would otherwise be thrown away as trash or burned, if they weren't recycled into products such as textiles.

We maintain, as we have said many times before, that until the systems and technology for recycling worn-out textiles are an actual alternative, we choose to prioritise other recycled materials with documented effects. Otherwise, we should do nothing. We do not believe that would be the better option.

According to data from the EU's LCA database, the climate footprint of recycled polyester is up to 50% lower at raw material level compared to conventional polyester.

We invest significantly

We disagree with critics who believe it is wrong to currently use plastic bottles collected as waste in the production of recycled polyester – but we also believe that the fashion industry must take responsibility for ensuring solutions so that discarded textile materials will be used to make new textiles.

We do this, among other things, by continuously investing millions in innovative companies (such as Ambercycle and Matterr) that can take worn-out textiles and textile waste and recycle them into materials that can be used to make new garments.

The technologies are still in their infancy, but the end-goal is for textile recycling to become as common as paper recycling.

BESTSELLER is also a signatory to the Voluntary Sector Collaboration on Textiles, initiated by the Danish Ministry of Environment, working actively to promote the use of recycled materials, including recycled polyester, as an important part of the transformation of the fashion and textile industry in Denmark.

TV 2’s broadcast may give the impression that BESTSELLER is not concerned with the environmental issues and challenges present in Bangladesh, which the fashion industry is working to address. This is not correct.

We are currently investing and have committed to significant investments to bring renewable energy into the country. For instance, we have created a model where we help install solar panels on the roofs of textile companies, and we have committed to investing DKK 700 million in wind energy to help transform the country's energy grid.

Controlling wastewater

We openly classify wastewater pollution as a critical risk in Bangladesh, as stated in our due diligence report, which is available to everyone. This has never been an issue we hide or overlook.

No companies producing our clothes are allowed to discharge untreated wastewater from clothing production, and all companies producing our clothes must comply with local laws in the country where their production takes place.

In Bangladesh, authorities have tightened tolerance levels for colour in treated wastewater. We welcome this legislation as it helps ensure that colour in treated wastewater can be avoided.

Before a factory can become a supplier to BESTSELLER, it needs to be approved by our local teams, which consist of specialists in environmental protection and working conditions.

We conduct ongoing assessments of the companies we collaborate with and give more than 700 recommendations each year on how they can improve their environmental conditions, including the quality of treated wastewater. The vast majority of our recommendations are implemented, thereby driving the development in Bangladesh in the right direction.

If a company cannot improve critical environmental conditions or fails to do so within a reasonable timeframe, we terminate our cooperation with the factory in question.

Investment opportunity

BESTSELLER aims to improve the conditions for water environment in Bangladesh and is ready to invest given the right opportunity – just as we have already pledged investments exceeding DKK 700 million to bring renewable energy into the country.

We have plans to invest strategically in water environment over the coming years, not least because we openly classify water as a high-risk area.

Ten years ago, responsible international fashion brands - including BESTSELLER - focused on improving factory buildings and physical setups regarding safety equipment, fire risks, emergency exits, and more. Thanks to our direct influence and that of others, these conditions are now under control at companies working with major international brands.

In the same way, we expect to use our presence and influence in Bangladesh to continue helping the country improve its water conditions - not only within the textile industry, but more broadly, as there is a clear need.

This is what we are working towards and witnessing, but Bangladesh is a developing country, and progress does not always happen as quickly as we would like.

TV 2's broadcast may give the impression that BESTSELLER turns a blind eye to working conditions in Bangladesh and that we do not help improve conditions for factory workers in the textile industry. This is not correct.

Over the course of many years, we have initiated several activities to improve working conditions, to ensure that all workers receive the wages they are entitled to, and to make it safer for women to go to work.

This is not a task that can be solved by one single company, but we actively use our presence and influence to take responsibility and promote those improvements that we openly describe as necessary for the fashion industry.

In recent years, we have invested and committed to investments in the transformation of the fashion industry amounting to 1 billion DKK.

83% of our primary suppliers in Bangladesh have been involved in BESTSELLER's women empowerment initiatives, through which we aim to strengthen women's economic, social, and political positions. In total, these programs have reached nearly 217,000 women in our global supply chain – including 160,000 women in Bangladesh alone.

Furthermore, we have developed an official policy and initiated measures against gender-based discrimination, harassment, and abuse in the workplace, outlining our requirements and expectations for the factories that sew our garments. This is to reduce the risk of women being subjected to abuse when they go to work. A risk we acknowledge exists in Bangladesh.

Through a pilot project – the Employee Injury Scheme – we also support textile workers and their families in receiving financial assistance if they suffer serious injuries while at work. This is an attempt to create a significant improvement in workers' conditions. BESTSELLER was among the first brands to support the project, developed by the ILO and GIZ, a German development organisation.

Solid due diligence setup

Before a given textile factory can become a supplier to BESTSELLER, it must be approved by our local assessment team, which consists of specialists in working conditions, including occupational health and safety, workers' rights, human rights, and environmental protection. All suppliers must comply with international standards and local laws, as well as the requirements we set in BESTSELLER's factory standards programme.

We conduct ongoing announced and unannounced assessments at all factories that sew our clothes, and we monitor and influence what we can in relation to what happens at the factory, but we do not have full control over all conditions – BESTSELLER does not own factories in Bangladesh. At any given factory, we are one fashion brand among other customers. We occupy an average of 15 percent of the factories' total capacity, sometimes as little as a few percent.

Our supplier control is carried out in an effort where we continuously identify, prevent, and minimise risks at several levels: among the individual workers, in factory management, in the industry as a whole, and in our own business practices.

Need for increased control

It is essential to understand that the EU categorises Bangladesh as a developing country. EU has adopted customs regulations to give Danish and European companies an incentive to cooperate more with companies in Bangladesh, thereby contributing to the country's industrialisation. This is a development that is underway but far from complete.

Obviously, it is necessary to assess the conditions in Bangladesh from this perspective.

One cannot expect the same environmental and working conditions as seen in more developed countries – and this requires a robust due diligence system when we, as a company, produce in the country.

In a developing country like Bangladesh, it is not surprising that we encounter problems when searching for them – which is exactly the reason we systematically and continuously search.

Every year, through our routine audits, we identify approximately 350 issues of varying nature related to working conditions at garment factories in Bangladesh. The vast majority of the issues we find are resolved.

In cases where the issue cannot be resolved – and when all other options are exhausted – we terminate our cooperation with the factory. This is done according to a fixed procedure that ensures the cooperation ends in a good and ethically responsible manner, with a particular focus on the workers in the factory.

Since 2022, we have terminated our cooperation with five textile factories in Bangladesh which have not wanted or been able to meet our requirements or requests for improvements.

Likewise, we have refused to initiate cooperation with five factories that could not meet our requirements in our initial check. This has, for example, involved insufficient payroll systems.

At BESTSELLER, we are very open about the issue between minimum wage and living wage, and we recognise low wages as a critical human rights issue.

We believe that a significant part of the solution to the problem must be found at industry level, through strengthening of the trade union movement, collective agreements, and higher minimum wages set through tripartite negotiations.

These are issues we actively work on by supporting freedom of association and workers' right to organise and collectively bargain for decent wages, and by pushing for the minimum wage in Bangladesh to be raised.

Advocating for higher minimum wage

We have publicly advocated for a wage structure in line with workers' needs and rights, while also considering employers' economic realities and the regulatory framework.

For example, during the most recent renegotiation of the minimum wage in 2023, we, along with several other brands and the trade union movement, co-signed a public letter to the RMG Minimum Wage Board in Bangladesh, advocating for a higher minimum wage.

Specifically, we, along with the trade union movement, encouraged a minimum wage that allows a worker to meet their own and family's basic needs, including a buffer for other expenses, and that this should be earned within the legal normal working hours, without overtime.

Supplier requirements

All factories that sew our clothes must respect the statutory wage, and we monitor wage payments at the factories to ensure that workers actually receive the wages they are entitled to.

Our routine factory audits include verification of payslips at least every 18 months and interviews with randomly selected workers without the presence of factory management.

Child labour is completely unacceptable and must never occur.

We never cooperate with companies that use child labour in their factories or that do not have effective systems in place to ensure that child labour cannot occur.

Furthermore, all companies that produce our clothes must have systems in place to verify the age of their employees before they are hired.

According to BESTSELLER's Child Labour Policy, no children under the age of 15 may be employed by companies we work directly with or companies further down our value chain. Young people under the age of 18 may only be employed to perform light work.

Risk-based control system

When we monitor to ensure that child labour does not occur, we follow the guidelines recommended by the UN and OECD. The guidelines stipulate that we should focus on avoiding human rights violations – including child labour – in the parts of our supply chain where the risk is greatest.

Once, this risk was mainly occurring in the factories where garments are sewn, but today it is in the fields where, for example, cotton is grown.

We believe – in line with other companies, NGOs, and experts – that the high-tech, modern spinning mills are not the part of the value chain where the risk of child labour is greatest. This is the link that TV2's broadcast has chosen to focus on.

Regardless of our risk assessment, we naturally respond if we become aware of potential violations – in line with what the UN and OECD recommend.

No documentation for serious allegation

In two instances, the broadcast mentions the presence of minors is in factories – not in factories we work with, but in factories that are allegedly connected to companies we do business with.

The companies have offered TV 2 documentation proving that there is not, and has not been, any cooperation with these factories. TV 2 has declined to review this documentation.

TV 2 has also refused to provide the two companies with evidence supporting their claim that child labour occurs within our value chain.

If TV 2 were aware of such serious matters, we find it difficult to understand why TV 2 would withhold this information on alleged child labour for more than a year.