Unpacking the rating system
Good On You ratings give you the power to make better choices when you shop. Choices that reflect your commitment to doing better by the planet, people and animals. Choices that create a sustainable future in fashion.
We believe fashion brands should be responsible for, and transparent about, their impact. How were the clothes you’re wearing made, and how do your favourite brands stack up on the issues that matter?
The Good On You brand rating system considers the most important social and environmental issues facing the fashion industry to assess a brand’s impact on people, the planet and animals.
People
We look at brands’ impact on workers across the supply chain. These include policies and practices on child labour, forced labour, worker safety, freedom of association (the right to join a union), gender equality and payment of a living wage. We consider how well a brand ensures that its policies are implemented: do they empower workers, have supportive supplier relationships, or conduct meaningful audits? Do their policies protect workers from the impacts of COVID-19?
Planet
We consider each brand’s resource use and waste management, and their policies to address energy use and carbon emissions, impacts on water, microfibre pollution and chemical use and disposal.
Animals
We consider how well a brand traces it’s animal products and its animal welfare policies. We identify the use of fur, angora, down feather, shearling, karakul and exotic animal skin and hair. We also consider wool use including ‘mulesing’ and whether and how the brand uses leather.
For each of people, planet and animals we also consider if brands are taking positive steps – such as providing industry leadership on issues – or whether they engage in ‘negative citizenship’ like lobbying against legislation to increase transparency or reduce harm.
Information sources
Our 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).
We collect over 500 data points per brand across more than 100 key sustainability issues, indicators and standards systems. We weight third party sources according to their scope (the issues they address) and the quality of their assurance (how well they ensure brands comply with the standards that have been set).
For more information please download our Ratings Guide.
