We have all heard of climate change, plastic pollution, toxic wastes, the loss of biodiversity caused by deforestation carried out for the sake of intensive agriculture, or the horrible working conditions in factories in the developing world. We may not all care about all these things. Or at least, some of us are more concerned about some of these issues than others. Our level of awareness and care depends on where we grew up and how much we were exposed to these issues.
As a child, I loved animals and became aware early of the number of species facing extinction because of human activities - especially the loss of habitat caused by deforestation. I admit that I didn't start worrying about working conditions in factories that produce the clothes I buy until I was in my 30's. And even though I was by then quite concerned about climate change and pollution, it is only recently that I started to think about changing my buying habits when it comes to clothes and shoes. It's never too late to do something to help the planet and other human beings. You can also start taking action now by buying greener and more ethical products and avoiding the worst abusers.
Buying eco-friendly clothes can also benefit your health in unsuspected ways. As Daniel Goleman explains in his book Ecological Intelligence: Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy, cotton crops account for 10 percent of the world's use of pesticides. The soil is first prepared with organophosphates, which is linked to central nervous system damage to humans. Then, just before the crop is harvested, paraquat, a highly toxic defoliant linked to Parkinson's disease, is sprayed on cotton, with half of it ending up in streams and fields. This is why purchasing organic cotton is beneficial both for one's health and for the environment. But that is not all. Cotton yarn has to be bleached, dyed and finished with industrial chemicals such as chromium, chlorine and formaldehyde, each toxic in its own way, with large amounts rinsing off in factory wastewater that often pollutes local rivers and groundwater. So make sure the textiles you buy used of non-toxic dyes.
I have done a bit of research to help you choose brands more responsibly. I started with three websites that rates companies for their sustainability, eco-friendliness and workers' rights: Ethical Consumer (UK), Shop Ethical (Australia) and Good on you (Australia). I used them mostly to find the smaller brands dedicated to being environmentally responsible as part of their corporate ethos. For larger companies I used:
Sustainable Cotton Ranking: An index developed by the WWF, Pesticide Action Network and Solidaridad. Companies are scored on policy, traceability and actual uptake of sustainable cotton. Brands with a high score (above 60%) are marked as Cotton+ below.
Better Cotton Initiative: A global not-for-profit organisation and the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world.
Fashion Transparency Index: Reviewed 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts. The best scorers (60 to 73%) are marked as Transparent.
Supply Chain+ CITI Evaluation: The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a non-profit environmental research organisation registered and based in Beijing, assesses brands on the environmental management of their supply chains in China. Best rated brands (60 to 77%) are marked as Supply Chain+. Worst rating brands are marked as Supply Chain- (0 to 35%).
Filthy Fashion Climate Scorecard: Stand.earth rates companies on their actual emission reduction (+ short and long term targets), use of renewable energy, and incentive programmes. Brands with a high score (above 55%) are marked as Climate+ below. The worst performers are indicated as Climate-.
Greenpeace Detox Catwalk: Assess if fashion brands removed priority chemicals such as Phtalates and APEOs, substitute PFCs with safer alternatives, and how transparently they report their data. Brands that passed all criteria are marked as Detox below. Those that failed all criteria are marked as Toxic.
Additionally, I have indicated in the list of fashion brands whether they possessed the following ethical certifications.
Certified B Corporations: Certification of social and environmental performance. Indicated as B-corp below.
Bluesign: a sustainability standard for the manufacture of textiles that takes particular account of chemical safety aspects. Indicated as bluesign.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): An American animal rights organization opposed to factory farming, fur farming, animal testing, and the use of animals in entertainment. Members are indicated as Animals+.
Animal Free Fashion: A project for ethical and sustainable fashion. Members are indicated as Animals+.
The following table summarises the ratings for sustainable cotton, green supply chain, fashion transparency, fashion climate and from the Good On You website. The overall score is an average of the five ratings with an additional 5 points bonus for members of Animal Free Fashion or PETA, and 5 points bonus for the brands who passed the Greenpeace Detox test. 5 points were withdrawn from brands that failed all three categories of the detox test. Note that you can sort the ranking for each column by clicking on the title.
Companies/Brands
Sustainable Cotton
Supply Chain
Fashion Transparency
Fashion Climate
Good On You
OVERALL SCORE
H&M
77.4
70
73
65
60
79.08
Adidas/Reebok
79.2
70.88
69
48
66.67
71.75
Levi Strauss
64.5
76.96
48
80
53.33
69.56
Marks & Spencer
66.1
55.88
60
40
73.33
69.06
C&A
69.5
73.48
70
43
60
68.20
Patagonia
60
55
86.67
67.22
Esprit
39.8
52.16
64
38
53.33
59.46
Puma
57
58
46.67
58.89
Nike
60
68.04
55
57
53.33
58.67
Kering (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent)
48
58
66.67
57.56
Burberry
37.44
36
65
66.67
56.28
Primark
69.72
38
40
54.24
VF Corp. (Eastpak, North Face, Timberland)
23.4
44.74
59
58
60
49.03
Gap
43.6
54.8
50
62
46.67
46.41
Lindex
35.64
50
53.33
46.32
Inditex (Zara, M. Dutti...)
15.9
69
43
38
40
46.18
Hanes
39
17
80
45.33
Target
25.1
61.56
37
43
53.33
44
New Balance
26
57.32
48
48
40
43.86
ASICS
17.78
46
58
53.33
43.78
Fast Retailing (Uniqlo...)
16.6
44.36
40
53.33
43.57
Otto Group
69
20
38
42.33
Mammut
31
38
53.33
40.78
Benetton
40.3
6
55
40
40.33
Next
25.3
36
40
38.77
Lululemon
4.5
44
27
40
38.50
Bestseller (Jack & Jones, Name It...)
51
31.68
30
60
38.17
Hugo Boss
31.6
11.72
41
46.67
37.75
Tom Tailor
33.5
18
60
37.17
New Look
19.5
43
46.67
36.39
PVH (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger)
35.9
12.64
54
48
50
35.11
American Eagle Outfitters
14.5
25.32
17
73
40
33.96
Columbia Sportswear
35
32.9
28
5
66.67
33.51
Decathlon (Quechua...)
57.6
9.52
23
40
32.53
Berkshire Hathaway (Brooks, Fruit of the Loom)
0.3
25
66.67
30.66
Arcadia (Burton, Evans, Outfit, Wallis)
11
38
40
29.67
Mango
5
22
46.67
29.56
Walmart
10.3
23.08
28
38
40
27.88
Abercrombie & Fitch
14.66
25
40
26.55
Guess
7.84
19
38
40
26.21
S Oliver
12.3
16
40
22.77
Valentino
2
10
40
22.33
Deckers (UGG, Teva, Sanuk...)
1.48
17
46.67
21.72
Amazon
0
25
40
21.67
Under Armour
4.3
29
0
53.33
21.66
Lacoste
6
25
33.33
21.44
Coach
5.14
19
40
21.38
LVMH (KENZO, Givenchy, Fendi...)
25
14
40
21.33
Carrefour
6.3
36.7
20
21
Ralph Lauren
6.3
6.24
27
40
19.89
Prada
7.06
18
33.33
19.46
Giorgio Armani
0
3.2
9
40
18.05
Chanel
3
11
40
18
FILA
0.72
8
40
16.24
MUJI
1
10
33.33
14.78
Macy's (Alfani, Bloomingdale's, Bluemercury...)
3.12
16
3
40
12.42
DKNY
0
2
20
7.33
Max Mara
0
0
20
6.67
Listing of fashion brands by ethical rating
A - Most ethical and eco-friendly brands
(Note that, apart from H&M, these are all small companies that made ethics and environment their business model)
