Looking to quit fast fashion or even just become more sustainably minded why not check out Good On You? The app gives information on the sustainability and ethics of over 3,000 fashion brands through sustainability ratings.
Fashion brands are assessed with a comprehensive rating system. Each brand is given a rating out of 5: 1. We avoid, 2. Not good enough, 3. It’s a start, 4. Good to 5. Great with scores on the brand’s impact on people, the planet, and animals. The app also provides sustainability tips, guides, and style edits. According to the New York Times, “Good On You is the place to find brands making genuine efforts to curb their carbon footprint.”
The app is easy to use, and people can create an account by connecting to their email or Facebook account. The home page allows users to search by brand or category and they can also browse by various categories such as tops, outerwear, activewear and plus size.
Users can save brands under favourites and discover the latest offers from a variety of fashion brands on the offers tab on the app. If the brand the user is looking for is not on the app you can request a rating for it. Actor and outspoken activist, Emma Watson has described Good on You as her “benchmark for ethical shopping.”
Good On You quickly gives us an idea of what brands to avoid if we wish to be as sustainable in our fashion purchases as possible. It’s interesting to note that the brands to avoid are not all brands that people immediately associate as being unethical. Gymshark was rated as not good enough on the app. They say “Gymshark is not taking adequate steps to ensure payment of a living wage for its workers.” The sportswear brand received 2 stars for the planet and 2 for people. However, the animal rating is great as its entire product range is vegan.
Fashion Nova is a US fashion brand which also received a very poor sustainability rating from Good On You. They gave the brand 1 star and recommended consumers to avoid Fashion Nova. The brand received just 1 star for the planet and people and 2 stars for animal policies. Fashion Nova doesn’t publish sufficient relevant information about its environmental policies.
According to Good On You, “None of its supply chain is certified by labour standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages or other labour rights. It received a score of 0-10% in the Fashion Transparency Index. It publishes zero or very limited information about its supplier policies and audits.”
It’s important to note that it’s not just the cheaper, high-street fashion brands which do not put their best foot forward in terms of ethical fashion. Calvin Klein received an average score of 3 by Good On You. There is no evidence that CK ensures payment of a living wage. They received a grading of 2 for animal policies as they use leather, wool and exotic animal hair.
Some members of the DCU Sustainable Living Society have used the app before and believe it’s great. According to Sustainable Living Soc, “it allows us to learn about what we are shopping with brands and clothes. It’s very eye opening when you see the numbers and information about brands. We would definitely recommend it to people!”