Blog by Poppy Smith for Circular Economy Wardrobe
This blog will outline some resources one can use to determine what fashion brands incorporate ethical practices into their production processes and deserve your well-earned coins.
USEFUL APPS TO DOWNLOAD ON YOUR PHONE
1. ‘GOOD ON YOU’ APP
The app ‘Good On You’ enables shoppers to easily browse and purchase garments which have been produced in an ethically responsible manner. You can look up a brand and the app immediately tells you how ethically responsible it is. It does this through the use of a five-star rating system. Since 2015, the company has assessed more than 3000 brands - including world renowned fashion retailers such as Levi’s, Zara and H&M
Platform: Online, Android, iOS
Language: English
2. ‘FAER’ APP
On this app, one can search and shop thousands of sustainable fashion products of various clothing categories and styles. Faer's voice and visual search assists you in finding the right product in a fast and convenient way. The brands available on Faer are committed to transparency towards the consumer. For example, how and where their fair fashion is produced or what type of fabrics and dyes they are using.
Platform: Online, iOS
Language: English
3. ‘NOT MY STYLE’ APP
This app hasn’t actually been launched yet but the company ‘Not my Style’ are working around the clock to get it ready so keep your eyes peeled!! In the meantime, you can visit their website: http://www.notmystyle.org.
Not My Style focuses on the treatment of the garment workers who make our clothes from a vast array of fashion brands.
On their website, they use a traffic light system to easily show which brands are publishing information about their garment worker employees’ working conditions and wages as well as which brands are not.
You can click on a specific brand such as ASOS where the website displays a YES or NO next to
An in-depth analysis of the information ASOS provides on the working conditions and wages of their employed garment workers
USEFUL ONLINE RESOURCES
1. HTTPS://THEGOODSHOPPINGGUIDE.COM
The ‘Good Shopping Guide’ allows you to look up popular fashion brands and see how ethically responsible they are using an ‘Ethical Company Index Score’ system and analysing brands on four different factors; the fashion retailer’s Environmental impact, how they treat animals, how they treat their garment workers and Other related factors such as ethical accreditation.
2. HTTPS://WWW.ETHICALCONSUMER.O RG/FASHION-CLOTHING/SHOPPING-GUIDE/HIGH-STREET-CLOTHES-SHOPS
This website does require you to subscribe in order to view their score table on various brands’ business practices, indicating how ethical each brand is.
‘Our ethical ranking table for high street and online clothes shops identifies which companies are not really pulling their weight to help.’
Their published and regularly updated guide analyses fashion brands and the ways in which they practice: Human Rights, Sustainability, The incorporation of Toxic Chemicals, the treatment of Animals and the production of Leather.
3. HTTPS://MYGREENCLOSET.C OM/DIRECTORY/
‘My Green Closet’ is designed to allow visitors to easily navigate the site and quickly determine how ethically responsible certain fashion brands are. The site was set up by @VerenaErin (her Instagram handle) to help consumers compare and visualise what brands incorporate ethical practices and are sustainable. The site lists a vast quantity of retailers, using directory symbols to inform us of the ethical nature of each brand.
4. HTTPS://COMPAREETHICS.COM/BRANDS/
The website ‘Compare Ethics’ has published a Brand Directory where they state that for each brand or marketplace listed on their website, they have supporting evidence that these brands are committed to the ethical area you as the consumer have chosen to base your search within their directory on. The website allows you to search for brands whom focus on at least one of the following three ethical issues: animal cruelty, environmental issues and people related issues
The clickable grids which appear on the website’s Brand Directory that transport you to various ethical and sustainable fashion brands
SUMMARY
Whilst this report has only provided a short list of resources one can use to navigate which fashion retailers are ethically responsible and which brands incorporate sustainability into their business practices, I hope it has shown you that there are numerous sources of such information and a vast array of brands committed to helping this planet one way or another.
Now start shopping guilt-free!