Risk is now everyone’s business
#RISK is where the whole ‘risk’ community comes together to meet, debate, and learn, to break down silos and improve decision-making.
Thank you for your interest in Models Trust.
Risk is a situation where you are exposing yourself to danger, or in this case your company.
In most companies, there are known risks, and we are very good at developing systems and measurements to take precautions against those risks. The trickier part of a business' risk is supply chains, as they are often so far removed from the central core of the business they present unknown risks.
Mostly every company in the world that is trying to sell something, whether it is a mortgage, hair shampoo, fast food, a watch, or luxury clothing, requires people to do it. Those people are called Models or Talent. They are normally sourced through a production company or an advertising company that has created a campaign for the brand. The issue is that you, as the company, have no line of sight on what happens on production.
After seven years of research and interviewing thousands of models worldwide, we know a few things. We know that in most places of work, people are not treated the way models are treated at their place of work. We also know that this bad behaviour has been normalised on production/shoots/shows. When they enter the industry, models are so young that they assume this is the way it is and therefore don't question the behaviour or see it as abuse. By the time we had interviewed our first 19 models, we had found 185 different types of abuse. This amount of abuse is unheard of in most industries.
The results we found were:
57% of the abuse is financial. Models are often not paid, or they are paid with clothes, which does not pay their bills. Their money can be withheld from them, or they are treated as unpaid escorts.
29% of the abuse is around humiliation, bullying, sexual harassment, non-consensual contact, no private changing rooms etc.
14% of the abuse is around safety, and by that, I mean being burnt with curling irons, or steam ironed into a dress, or given an eye infection from unclean brushes, products that cause the hair to fall out etc.
The need for diversity that has affected most Brands' visual campaigns means that you are sourcing models often from African states. Unfortunately, this has increased the risk of trafficking because Model Agencies are popping up that are not legitimate and are grooming young kids online, with the lure of being famous models.
This means that in your supply chain as a brand there is a potential for labour and human rights issues. You may not be aware of it until it comes out in social media and you become a stalking horse for the rest of the world to step up. Your stakeholders and shareholders will expect you to comply with ESG or NSDG resolutions. If you cannot demonstrate that in your campaigns you are ethical to the people you employ, then this is RISK.
SOLUTIONS
My background is in Preventative Medicine, and I intuitively want to ensure that bad things don't happen at all rather than have to deal with the fallout. However, I also am aware when you confront people with a problem, who already have battle fatigue, you need to offer a neat solution.
Models Trust has the easiest and lightest of-touch solutions. We help you see your supply chain and build data and reports for you confidentially so that you can make adjustments should you need to.
All you need to do is ask the talent working for your brand's advertising campaigns to put a QR code on their call sheet, and after production, they fill out the survey. The data is anonymous, aggregated, and comes directly to Models Trust. We build a report and then present you with the data, giving a consultation on ways to improve and champion what you have done well.
Here is the fire-side chat Elizabeth had with event Founder Nick James in October 2022.
