How to be an ethical fashion brand. We ask Good On You.

It’s no secret that ethical fashion is a hot topic, as more and more shoppers are demanding to know where and how their clothes are made.

That’s why Afterpay has teamed up with Good On You, the leading sustainability ratings platform for fashion, to help shoppers make more conscious and sustainable choices.

Afterpay shoppers can now search for the best brands rated by Good On You, using the Ethical Fashion category.

For retailers, a positive rating by Good On You can help reinforce a brand’s conscious credentials - and drive traffic.

James Bartle, who is the co-founder of ethical brand Outland Denim, says: “Good On You was one of our earliest supporters and our partnership with them is incredibly valuable. Not only are they one of the most trusted global resources for consumers who want to make more sustainable purchasing decisions, Good On You's platforms are also consistently in our top five sources of webstore traffic and referral-based conversions each month."

But what does it really take to be an ethical fashion brand? And how can a brand address its impacts to reach more conscious shoppers? Good On You explains.

How it Works

The Good On You rating system considers the most important social and environmental issues facing the fashion industry to assess a brand’s impact on three key pillars: people, planet and animals.

They look at leading industry standards, certifications and a brand’s own public reporting to award a 5-point score from 1-We Avoid, to 2-Not good enough, 3-It’s a start, 4-Good and 5-Great. Brands rated ‘Good’ (4/5) or ‘Great’ (5/5) by Good On You will be featured in Afterpay’s new Ethical Fashion category on the Shop Directory.

How Transparent Is Your Brand?

Transparency is an important first step in the journey to becoming a more sustainable brand, because it drives accountability and progress over time. It also helps customers make informed choices if a brand publicly discloses information on their practices and policies.

For this reason the Good On You rating system is based on the specific, concrete data that brands publish. So brands that are transparent about their practices and progress against key sustainability issues score better on Good On You, whereas brands that don’t disclose any information score poorly.

Here’s what Good On You look for when rating a fashion brand for their impact on people, the planet and animals.

Impact on People

When we assess how a brand impacts people, we look at how its workers are treated across the supply chain. These include policies and practices on child labour, forced labour, worker safety, gender equality, the right to join a union and payment of a living wage. We also consider a brand’s relationships with their suppliers, how they empower their workers and whether they audit their factories.

Brands that want to avoid or reduce negative impacts on workers can:

Trace suppliers all the way to raw materials
Avoid hotspots for human rights abuses
Create and publish a supplier code of conduct that aligns with international labour standards
Develop strong relationships with suppliers to ensure worker safety and living wages, and promote worker empowerment
Use certification schemes to ensure compliance with standards, eg Fairtrade, Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA)

Brands rated by Good On You that score well on people include premium jeans label, Outland Denim (Great), which traces all of its supply chain and offers employment opportunities for women who have been trafficked in Cambodia. Or locally made Bianca Spender (Good) that ensures a living wage for workers and is accredited by ECA.

Impact on Planet

For the environment, we consider each brand’s use of resources and waste management, their commitments to circular practices, whether they measure and reduce carbon emissions, their impacts on water and microplastics, as well as how they use and dispose of chemicals.

Brands that want to reduce their environmental footprint can:

Use eco-friendly materials to limit the amount of chemicals and water used in production
Transition to renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions
Reduce textile waste by reusing offcuts or using recycled materials
Minimise and/or use recyclable packaging
Use certification schemes to ensure compliance with standards, eg the Global Organic Textile Standard

Brands rated by Good On You that score well on planet include luxury basics label A.BCH (Great) that uses mostly sustainable materials including organic cotton, organic linen and Tencel. Sportswear giant, Adidas (Good), uses recycled materials and has set an absolute target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from its own operations.

Impact on Animals

For our animal ratings we consider how well a brand traces its 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 if wool has been produced using ‘mulesing’ and whether and how the brand uses leather.

Brands that want to protect the welfare of animals should:

Consider going vegan - build a label without the use of animal materials
Use upcycled and recycled materials - good for animals and the environment
Avoid non-domesticated animal materials such as python and crocodile
Avoid harmful practices in the supply chain like sheep mulesing, or materials with inherent cruelty like karukul, shearling and angora
Use certification schemes to ensure compliance with standards, eg PETA-approved

We rate brands like Ahimsa Collective (Good), producing cruelty-free vegan leather handbags and accessories. All garments made by high performance activewear brand D+K (Good) are PETA certified vegan.

For a closer look at our approach and the issues we consider when rating a brand, refer to the Guide to the Good On You rating system.

Where do I start?

Good On You encourages brands to start with the issues that are most meaningful and impactful for their organisation, whether it be transitioning to renewables, sourcing vegan and eco-friendly materials or tracing suppliers to try to protect workers all the way down the chain. Most of all they encourage brands to talk about their progress with their customers and the growing community of shoppers who care.

All references to any registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Afterpay does not endorse or recommend any one particular supplier and the information provided is for educational purposes only.