Get acquainted with ‘Good On You’, the platform ranking fashion brand’s sustainability

There’s no doubt that the fashion industry is growing, morphing and shapeshifting each and every day… for better and for worse.

While many positive developments happen, there’s no denying that fast fashion’s impact on the environment is destroying the environment. While that’s so easy for us to say, do we know specifically how good or bad the brands we consume clothes from really are? Well, that’s where Good On You come in.

Good On You are making it their business to rank fashion brands on their ethical practices and sustainability, one brand at a time. You can think of them essentially as a fashion sustainability guide which allows you to search any brand (they’ve analysed) and to learn just how naughty or nice they are to the environment.

“The global fashion industry has a huge problem with pollution, waste and human rights abuses. Like you, we care for our planet, people and animals, and we want to live in a world that’s sustainable and fair. We are a group of campaigners, fashion professionals, scientists, writers and developers who have come together to drive that change.”

So how do they source their information?

According to Good On You, their key data sources are brand and parent company reporting, robust third party indices (eg the Fashion Transparency Index and CDP Climate Change and Water Security projects), and independent certifications, accreditations and other standards based systems (like Fair Trade, Cradle to Cradle, OEKO-TEX STeP and the Global Organic Textile Standard).

They collect over 500 data points for each brand they analyse, across more than 100 key sustainability issues, indicators and standards systems. They then also weight third party sources according to their scope and the quality of their assurance – how well they ensure brands comply with the standards that have been set.

Once data has been collected, the Good On You brand rating system then comes into play, taking into consideration the most important social and environmental issues facing the fashion industry, including impact on people, the planet and animals.

Brands are then rated on a scale of five different ratings, from the best to the worst: great, good, it’s a start, not good enough and last and certainly least of all: we avoid. To check out their brand directory, you can browse their website or download their app too.

For more on this topic, follow the Fashion & Beauty Observer.

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