Zalando, ASOS and six other European retailers have launched coordinated infrastructure to streamline how brands report on human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD), addressing what the group describes as a fragmented landscape of compliance systems that burden suppliers with duplicative requests.
The initiative includes two components: the Retailer Brand Due Diligence Questionnaire and One Retail Hub, a free digital platform developed with technology provider TrusTrace. Together, they aim to establish sector-wide standards for assessing supply chain practices rather than requiring brands to navigate multiple proprietary systems.
The retailer coalition includes ABOUT YOU, Boozt, Ellos Group, New Look, The Very Group, Varner and Zalando, with development support from Cascale and Fair Wear.
Unified assessment framework
The questionnaire establishes a single self-assessment tool grounded in OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct. Brands can complete it once rather than responding to individual retailer requests with varying formats and requirements.
“Many existing tools have primarily increased administrative burden and slowed decision-making,” Pascal Brun, vice president of sustainability at Zalando, said in a statement. The new framework provides “a precise diagnosis that directly shows where and how improvements can be made.”
The assessment focuses on internal systems maturity rather than facility-level auditing, examining whether brands have established processes for identifying risks, conducting due diligence and implementing remediation across their supply networks.
One Retail Hub removes barriers for brands lacking dedicated compliance resources
One Retail Hub serves as the data exchange layer, allowing brands to maintain current HREDD information accessible to participating retailers. The platform incorporates AI features designed to parse existing sustainability reports, identify gaps in compliance documentation and generate recommendations.
“This is about how we function as an industry with data,” said David Reiner, ethical sourcing lead at Zalando and project lead for One Retail Hub. “We must remove technical and financial barriers. By making access simple and free, we ensure that progress becomes a shared standard rather than a competitive advantage.”
Smaller brands typically lack dedicated compliance departments to manage multiple retailer reporting systems simultaneously, forcing them to choose between investing disproportionate resources in administration or accepting reduced retail distribution. The consolidated approach aims to lower that barrier to market access.
The system is designed to enable brands to update information once while meeting reporting requirements across multiple retail partners, with participating retailers able to access standardized data rather than issuing separate questionnaires.
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