Our Factories: A Transparency Report
A detailed look at the four factories that produce Commonware garments, including working conditions, wages, environmental practices, and our audit results.
By Marcus Rivera
Why We Publish This
Most clothing brands treat their supply chain as a trade secret. Factory names, locations, and conditions are hidden behind vague language about “ethical standards” and “responsible partnerships.” We think that approach is backwards.
If you are proud of how your clothes are made, you should be willing to show it. And if you are not proud, transparency is the first step toward accountability.
This is our second annual factory transparency report. It covers the four factories that produce Commonware garments, including details about working conditions, wages, environmental practices, and the results of our most recent third-party audits.
Our Manufacturing Partners
Ateliers Costa - Porto, Portugal
What they make for us: Woven shirts, trousers, and outerwear including our Linen Button-Down and Everyday Chino
Workers: 127 employees Average wage: 35% above Portugal’s national minimum wage Working hours: Standard 40-hour work week with voluntary overtime compensated at 1.5x base rate
Ateliers Costa has been our primary woven garment partner since Commonware’s founding. The facility is a renovated textile mill in Porto’s Campanha district, with natural light in all production areas and modern ventilation systems installed in 2023.
Audit results (September 2025):
- Worker safety: Passed with no findings
- Fair wages: Passed - all workers compensated above living wage benchmarks
- Environmental compliance: Passed - wastewater treatment system meets EU standards
- Working hours: One minor finding - two instances of overtime exceeding weekly caps during peak production. Corrective action implemented.
Knit Works - Izmir, Turkey
What they make for us: Jersey knits including our Organic Cotton Crew Tee, Ribbed Tank, and Heavyweight Crew Sweatshirt
Workers: 83 employees Average wage: 40% above Turkey’s national minimum wage Working hours: Standard 45-hour work week (Turkish legal standard) with regulated overtime
Knit Works specializes in organic cotton jersey production and operates one of the few GOTS-certified knitting facilities in the Izmir region. The factory was purpose-built in 2019 with energy efficiency as a design priority.
Audit results (October 2025):
- Worker safety: Passed with no findings
- Fair wages: Passed - wages benchmarked against Anker Living Wage methodology
- Environmental compliance: Passed - solar panels supply 30% of facility energy
- Working hours: Passed with no findings
Meridian Textiles - Chennai, India
What they make for us: Select knitwear and accessories
Workers: 204 employees Average wage: 50% above Tamil Nadu state minimum wage Working hours: Standard 48-hour work week (Indian legal standard) with voluntary overtime
Meridian is our newest manufacturing partner, added in 2024. The facility was selected after an extensive evaluation that included three on-site visits and interviews with workers conducted independently of management.
Audit results (November 2025):
- Worker safety: Passed - fire safety systems upgraded prior to partnership
- Fair wages: Passed with recommendation to move toward living wage benchmarks within 18 months
- Environmental compliance: Passed - zero-liquid-discharge water treatment system
- Working hours: Passed with no findings
- Additional note: Meridian provides on-site childcare and subsidized meals for all workers
Confecciones Navarro - Valencia, Spain
What they make for us: Small-batch production and prototype development
Workers: 34 employees Average wage: 30% above Spain’s national minimum wage Working hours: Standard 40-hour work week
Confecciones Navarro is a small, family-run workshop that handles our prototype development and limited-edition production runs. Their smaller scale allows for the precision and flexibility that early-stage garment development requires.
Audit results (August 2025):
- All categories passed with no findings
What We Pay
We publish our FOB (Free on Board) cost percentages so you can understand how your money is allocated:
- Raw materials: 35-45% of product cost
- Factory labor: 20-25% of product cost
- Factory overhead: 10-15% of product cost
- Shipping and logistics: 5-8% of product cost
- Commonware margin: 15-25% of product cost
These numbers vary by product, but the ranges above are representative. For context, many fast-fashion brands allocate less than 5% of their retail price to factory labor.
Areas for Improvement
No supply chain is perfect, and we believe in naming our shortcomings alongside our successes.
- Living wage gap: While all our factories pay above legal minimums, not all have reached living wage benchmarks. We are working with each partner to close this gap by 2027.
- Scope 3 emissions: We do not yet have complete data on the carbon footprint of our full supply chain. A comprehensive emissions audit is underway.
- Tier 2 and 3 transparency: This report covers our cut-and-sew factories (Tier 1). Full transparency into fabric mills, dye houses, and raw material suppliers is our next frontier.
The Path Forward
Transparency is not a destination. It is a practice. We will continue to publish this report annually, expanding its scope as we deepen our understanding of our own supply chain.
If you have questions about any of the information in this report, we welcome them. Reach out to us at sustainability@commonware.com.