Finnish clothing brands rank low in terms of climate, environment and human rights transparency says ethical trade NGO Eetti. While some companies fare better than others, every brand can do better. Eetti utilized a set of international criteria maintained by consumer community Rank a Brand, which ranks companies into five categories (A-E) based on how clearly brands include responsibility clauses on their official websites and in their other PR. A total of 23 Finnish clothing brands were ranked against 1,500 other international companies.

The best-ranked Finnish brand is children’s clothing company Papu, the only firm to make it into the B category (on track towards sustainability). The next category (On its way, but can do better) includes companies Sail & Ski and Vimma. These brands all produce their products either solely in Finland or in some other low-risk countries.

The vast majority of brands fall into the lowest two categories. Category D (should do better) includes Noom, Lindex, Marimekko, By Pia's, House, Mywear, Nosh and R-Collection. The lowest category, E (Better put your wallet away), holds Halti, Reima, Nanso, Pola, Peak Performance, Sasta, Gugguu, Luhta, Makia, Rukka, Torstai and Your Face.

However, most companies consider openness and responsibility important, at least on the surface.