Brands have a choice to make fashion better.

It isn't always easy to know who is "good" but it's important to know what "good" looks like in the industry. This way you can look for certifications and metrics to confirm if the brands you are shopping with are "good" according to your standards and make conscious decisions knowing you are supporting solutions to aid the industry.

Certified B Corporations, businesses that are certified by B Lab, a non-profit that offers a rigorous set of standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency, authenticating brands using their business as a force for good. In addition, B Lab honors the Best for the World companies annually letting consumers know who is leading in solution innovation and by how much.

Bluesign®️ offers brands an "input stream management" system which is catered to the brands business model and operations. This way Bluesign is able to offer an auditing system that ensures products are made of resources and processes that are harmless to the people and planet.

The Cradle to Cradle Certified™ mark provides consumers, regulators, employees, and industry peers with a clear, visible, and tangible validation of a manufacturer’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and to their communities

Fairtrade standards for cotton were developed in order to highlight the struggles that these farmers face. Through the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium mechanisms, we work together with cotton producers to develop more resilient and democratic organizations that benefit from greater income stability.

Fair Trade Certified™️ Textile products are those that support the global citizens and the planet. Products that have been given the seal of approval helps promote empowerment, individual and community well-being, and income sustainability of all the workers involved, artisans, sewers, and their communities are uplifted and their environment is healthy.

Global Organic Textile Standard certifies brands' textile processing, manufacturing, and trading are environmentally and socially responsible backed by their intensive criteria, and on-site auditing and residual testing to prevent any unwanted pollutants.

More Certifications

Within the world of fashion brands have the responsibility to innovate, design, and produce garments that connect with their customers. Brands make a big impact not only in the way we dress but the way we participate in the world. By making a purchase with a brand you are supporting their practices. By inviting customers to connect with the brand, brands have the responsibility to be TRANSPARENT and hold themselves ACCOUNTABLE for all the harm or negative impact caused during production in order to allow their customers the fair opportunity to know what and who they are supporting.

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In order to know what values brands and business prioritized, it takes a little bit of extra research (just like it did to find that perfect dress). If in a store, ask employees. When shopping online, look at brands "About" pages, their missions, values, and business models. Odds are if a brand is committed to using their platform as a tool to offer better options for the fashion industry, they are going to easily communicate this.

To get a better understanding, next time you are shopping look out for some of these values and consider if they reflect yours:

advocacy

You know that when you make a purchase with a brand, store, or vendor, you are supporting something greater than profit. Look for vendors that give a percentage of their proceeds directly to a cause. Use their business as a means to better the lives of their employees, offer innovative solutions to improve the ways in which they conduct business, or overall use their platform to raise awareness and aid impact, and show appropriate metrics to confirm.

Inclusion

Brands that prioritize and include all stakeholders and not just profit. STAKEHOLDERS: all persons directly and indirectly involved, interested, and affected by a business. This means fair treatment and support of employees, garment workers, farmers, artisans, and more. While offering a product that does not exclude by race, age, size, and gender. Our style is how we communicate, let it not be hate.

Traceability

When you make a purchase with a brand, vendor, or store, you are able to trace the journey of the garment. This means brands are willing to share where the garments are made, what the conditions look like and what went into making them.

transparency

Brands communicate their supply chains: all the steps, people, resources, and processes that went into making your clothes. They conduct and make public assessments that verify their practices as ethical and sustainable, and do this out of respect for people, planet, and you.

If you feel like this information isn't made readily available, start demanding transparency from brands. Check out Fashion Revolution as a guide on the most effective way to reach out to brands, take action, and get noticed for it.