Every month, the Good On You team scours the internet to find you the ethical and sustainable fashion news that matters. Here’s everything you need to know this May.
In the know
Zara, H&M: The European Retail Giants Tied to Land Grabbing and Deforestation in Brazil (Euronews)
Euronews dissects the latest report by UK-based investigative NGO Earthsight on H&M and Zara’s use of Brazilian cotton. “Cotton clothes, towels, and bed sheets from H&M and Zara are ‘stained’ by illegal deforestation and human rights abuses”, reports Euronews.
Fast Fashion Retailer SHEIN Doubles Profits as it Awaits IPO Approval (The Guardian)
SHEIN has reported over $2 billion in profits—more than double the previous year’s earnings. This makes it one of the most profitable fashion companies globally, surpassing the H&M group. SHEIN is currently waiting for approval for a stock market listing in either New York or London.
Vestiaire Collective Introduces Cost-Per-Wear Metric as Part of its 2024 Circularity Report (FashionUnited)
“French resale luxury fashion platform Vestiaire Collective has launched a new metric to highlight the impact of overconsumption and fast fashion within the fashion industry”, reports FashionUnited. This new metric aims to help consumers better understand the value of their clothes and fashion items by breaking down an item’s actual cost into cost per wear. This new metric is based on the latest consumer survey conducted by Vestiaire Collective, which revealed that fast fashion items are worn less frequently on average, have a shorter lifespan, and have a lower resale value.
Fashion Website SHEIN Now Faces Stricter Rules Under EU Platform Law (Euronews)
The European Commission has recently categorised SHEIN as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the EU’s online platform regulations. The decision came after a substantial increase in the number of European users accessing SHEIN’s website. What does this mean? “The Singapore-based website will face stricter requirements under the EU’s Digital Services Act—and must adopt specific measures to protect users’ well-being, and monitor illegal activity such as counterfeit goods”, says Euronews.
How HBO’s Brandy Hellville and The Cult of Fast Fashion Reveals the Dark Side of the Brand (TIME)
A new documentary, Brandy Hellville and The Cult of Fast Fashion, dives into the controversies surrounding popular brand Brandy Melville and looks at the true cost of fast fashion. “In the documentary, director Eva Orner makes the case that Brandy Melville, a brand associated with a very specific type of carefully presented girlhood, has built its success, like many other fast fashion brands, on multiple levels of exploitation—from the teenage girls it courts and employs to the Chinese immigrant staffers sewing its clothes in sweatshops in Prato, Italy,” writes TIME. HBO’s documentary is available on Max.
The Lies That Sell Fast Fashion (Vox)
We all know fast fashion is bad news for people, the planet and animals. So why do people still buy from brands like H&M and SHEIN? “The answer is that e-commerce has completely warped our view of what items should cost and how long they should last… Consumers are being manipulated, but we can do better”, writes Kimberly Mas for Vox.
How Far Has Sustainable Fashion Come in the Last 10 Years? (Cosmopolitan)
Cosmopolitan asked a team of experts, including Good On You CEO Gordon Renouf, for their tips on how to make more sustainable shopping choices. “Shoppers should look for brands that speak transparently about their current actions—that means sharing specific relevant information about their impacts and initiatives and prioritising the most pressing material issues over token gestures. Be wary of brands promoting impressive-sounding initiatives but not backing them up with enough evidence or data or just doing not much else,” said Renouf.
‘Good’ and ‘Great’ news
Every month we publish news and product highlights from highly rated brands that have been assessed by our rigorous ratings system. Using our codes and links may earn us a commission—supporting the work we do. Learn more.
‘Great’ Brand Dedicated Shares 2023 CSR Report
Learn more about Swedish brand Dedicated’s impact, and its journey to keep improving its practices. “This sustainability report is a testament to our neverending quest to be the better choice and to do our utmost to improve our practices. We as a team are proud to share our progress in areas such as material use, energy use, product lifecycle, and transparency,” writes Dedicated’s founder and CEO, Johan Graffner.
