NGOs like Humanity United and Business and Human Rights Resource Centre have come up with a report that is pessimistic about global apparel industry’s efforts to eradicate forced labour from supply chains. Prepared by KnowTheChain, the survey offers a grim assessment about companies’ actions to protect workers during the recruitment process. The NGOs also say these companies have little or no process in place allowing them to listen to their employees’ concerns.

The average score is 46 out of 100. But less important than the raw numbers is how 20 of the world’s largest apparel companies scored low across the 22 indicators measured by the NGOs’ researchers. Across the board, one theme namely monitoring resulted in a relatively high score. But the fact that auditing and disclosure efforts netted decent marks shows that the garment industry’s reliance on inspections and social audits is not nearly enough to stop the human rights abuses that mar this industry’s reputation.

The problem is that forced labour most often occurs amongst the sub-contractors and smaller suppliers that are tucked in the furthest reaches of apparel companies’ supply chains. For those looking for some signs of responsibility within the textile and garment sectors, Adidas‘score provides some hope. The German athletic apparel company outpaced Gap in this assessment by a few steps.

Researchers noted Adidas’ transparency and copious data it released over the years. Compared to other apparel companies, Adidas has far stricter requirements when it comes to the recruitment and treatment of workers hired through employment agencies and job brokers. The company also launched efforts to raise awareness about modern-day slavery and has been more successful than many of its peers at identifying risks of human rights violations. Adidas even went as far as assessing potential abuses from where materials such as rubber, cotton and leather are sourced.