Good on you- We rate Brands

The global fashion industry ahs a huge problem with pollution, waste and human right abuses. Good on you is a group of campaigner, fashion professionals, writers and developers and scientists who came together to drive the change. With the ability to choose, they wish to have a real impact. They use expert analysis and pull out information to rate brands on easy to understand scores in ethical and sustainable fashion.

They are in-line with the UN Sustainable development goal 12-"Ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns"

They rate brand on the following factors:

Environmental impact - Material usage

Brands using high proportion of material made from recycled fabrics, including its polyester, nylon, and wool. Creating high-quality, long-lasting products, and offers a repair and reuse programs.

They can also follow greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities throughout its supply chain to reduce its climate impact. They can also have apolicy to prevent deforestation in its supply chain.

Some brand like "Patagonia" go far beyond to discourage customers from purchasing too many of its products. The brand’s “Don’t buy this jacket” campaign was designed to tackle the issues of consumerism head on. Patagonia recognises that buying less is one of the major steps shoppers can take to reduce their own eco footprint, saying “It would be hypocritical for us to work for environmental change without encouraging customers to think before they buy.” That’s a message we can get behind.

Patagonia was rated “Good'” for the environment due to these fantastic initiatives.

Animal Welfare

Brands can have a formal animal welfare policy aligned with Five Freedoms(Freedom from hunger and thirst, Freedom from pain, injury and disease, Freedom from distress, Freedom from discomfort, Freedom to express behaviours that promote well-being) and a clear mechanisms to implement. Leather and exotic animal hair can be used that are sourced from wool of non-mulesed sheep. There downs can be accredited by the Responsible Down Standard. Furthermore, brand must not use angora, fur, or exotic animal skin.

Labour Conditions

Brands receive score on the Fashion Transparency Index, Also there supply chain can be certified by FLA Workplace Code of Conduct and Fair Trade USA in the final stage of production. The brand also can publish a detailed list of suppliers in the final stage of production and some information about the findings of supplier audits, as well as some information about forced labour, gender equality, or freedom of association.

Furthermore, policies to protect suppliers in supply chain from the impacts of COVID-19 also improve the rating.

Our example brand: Patagonia was previously rated “It’s a Start” for labour, due to the lack of evidence it ensured payment of a living wage.

Overall Rating

Brands are rated from 1 (We Avoid) to 5 (Great). Overall ratings are derived from an average of the brand’s scores for each key area (environment, labour, animals).

Great = The brands demonstrate leadership in all three areas.

Good = The brands adopt policies and practices to manage multiple material issues across their supply chain and are often demonstrating leadership in one or more area.

It’s a Start = The brands are transparent about their policies and practices to manage some material issues and are making good progress on one or more of them.

Not Good Enough = The brands disclose some information in one or more area and consider some of the material issues, but are not yet adequately managing their impacts across their supply chains.

We Avoid = The brands disclose little to no relevant or concrete information about their sustainability practices. In some cases the brand may make ambiguous claims that are unlikely to have a material impact.

For further reading, please refer to: https://goodonyou.eco/how-we-rate