Wikirate is building an open database to understand corporate impacts. This research on the Top 100 Apparel Companies by market cap, is an important part of this effort, and will bring new information to the public that empowers companies and individuals to act, and ultimately improves sustainability throughout the industry.

The Challenge

Transparency on key issues such as living wages and human rights across the supply chain is patchy and performance data is difficult to locate. This research aims to create a holistic, public picture of how the largest apparel companies are operating and reporting, and map the information gaps, across their supply chains. Research gathered here will be combined with information coming from supply chain workers themselves, in an attempt to see how brand promises and reality align.

As a contributor, you can support by dedicating time to researching one or more of the companies listed in this project, over one or more years. The idea is to understand not only how companies are operating now, but how that has changed over time. You may be able to research only one year, or some of the questions, but others can pick up where you leave off. 

See below the key steps to getting started.

Getting Started

• Set up your Wikirate account. Click the “join” button on wikirate.org. Fill out in the form with a username [name, number, etc.], email address and password. Once you've submitted, check your email (and your spambox) for a verification to finalize the process.
• With your account set up, choose a company that interests you or has missing data. Click the "Research" button to get started.
• Choose a year. You can select the year from the dropdown menu, and once done, you will see a list of reports already available that you can use for your research. If the report you need is not on Wikirate, you can find this through an online search and add the source with URL or a file upload.
• You will see a metric question at the top of the page, and to the right, different tabs. One of these is the methodology tab, which can support with guidance around how to answer the metric question. 
• Research an answer to your question. If you do not find the answer in relevant documents, click "Unknown". This creates a mapping of where key information is not available. Otherwise, add the answer to the answer box, making sure it fits to the correct unit of measurement, cite your source using the Cite button, leave any useful comments such as page numbers where you found the information, and submit.
• Click the "Next" arrow to move onto your next metric.

Below a short video introduction to better understand this research process. 

Trouble Shooting

If you encounter an error message, check the message description to see if you can solve it. Oftentimes it is something simple such as you think you've 'cited' a source, but haven't clicked the "Cite" button yet. 

If you encounter a technical problem (like a WikiRat), report the bug on the Technical support page. For all other questions or suggestions email info@wikirate.org

FAQ

• What do I do if I enter a wrong value or year? Click on the value, then click the edit icon next to the year. Change your value or year, and click Submit.
• What is a metric? Metrics measure an aspect of company performance in a given year. Researching metric answers helps to grow the collective knowledge base on corporate performance. 
• What do I do if the company I am researching doesn't provide the information I need? When you are trying to answer a Wikirate metric question but you cannot find the right information in the relevant sources, answer the question with Unknown. This may be frustrating, but you can feel good about adding Unknowns because you’re shining a light on gaps in that company’s reporting.

Image credit: "https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/medical">Medical vector created by pikisuperstar