I like fashion but up until recently I was in rather a rut, and would only buy from certain brands, knowing that their sizing fitted me. I didn’t consider where the clothes came from or how they were made, or whether the people making them were paid a proper wage.
This all changed recently when I downloaded the brilliant app called “Good On You”. It is a worldwide app which assesses all the main brands for their ethical credentials, such as - are the people paid a proper wage, is there animal cruelty involved in making the items, etc.
All you do is type in the brand and you will discover whether it has 1, 2,3,4 or 5 stars. If it only has 1 or 2 stars, then that brand isn’t doing enough to address the ethical issues. If it has 3 stars it means that the brand is addressing these issues and if it has 4 or 5 stars, the brand is doing well ethically.
I was shocked to see that Marks and Spencer only has 2 stars, as does Hobbs and Barbour. I won’t be buying these brands now, however, if I see these brands in a charity shop or eBay then I will consider buying them as they then become part of the circular economy.
The refreshing thing about using the app, is that I now buy from brands I have never heard of before - this makes shopping much more interesting.
I went on a shopping trip to Bicester recently and there were a lot of shops there with only a 1 or 2 rating, so I avoided those shops. Interestingly Gucci and Burberry have 3 stars but the very expensive shoe brands such as Manolo Blahnik only have 1 star, and considering how much those shoes cost, there is no excuse for not paying their shoe makers a proper wage!
Fast fashion is a definite no no - it’s mostly made of nylons, which is plastic really, and not good to wear against the skin. These workers are not paid properly at all.
One brand was not on the app - the bag maker “Strathberry”. I emailed them to ask about their ethics regarding paying their workers a proper wage and I had no reply. Looking at their website, they proudly boast that each bag takes 20 hours to make.
When you use the app, there are filters, so you can search brands in the UK only, and you can look for particular categories of clothing, such as smart clothes and casual clothes etc
It’s a really good app and I now wear brands which I never used to wear.
