Equip – owner of outdoor brands Rab and Lowe Alpine – has achieved Fair Wear ‘leader’ status for the third year running.

In a recent brand performance check, Fair Wear acknowledged Equip’s “exceptional progress” in protecting workers’ rights along its global supply chain. Equip’s score was 76, an increase of 10 points from 2023.

Rab and Lowe Alpine are distributed in New Zealand by Outfitters. Director Neil Stichbury said he was proud of Equip for leading the way.

“Equip’s commitment to improve and be transparent with their processes sets an example of what the leaders in the industry should be doing. We know that customers are expecting brands to have the best practices in place and are proud that Equip takes this matter seriously by implementing improvements year after year.” 

Fair Wear is a non-profit organisation with the goal of improving conditions for garment factory workers. Its brand performance check is a tool to examine business practices, with the leader status given to member companies showing best practices. Other outdoor companies with leader status include Deuter, Ortovox and Vaude.