We all know the facts by now; fashion is the world’s second-largest industrial polluter behind oil. The majority of low-paid garment workers in developing countries are women.
Fashion houses and companies are starting to catch up, but it can be hard to tell who’s really walking their talk and who’s just talking. There’s actually a word for the latter, it’s called green washing.
Another disturbing thing about the fashion industry and our mindless way of consuming is that 8 billion tons of returned merchandise goes to landfills every single year. So, the simple solution here? Let’s stop buying crappy things from crappy companies!
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“Ok” – you might say – “but how do I know what companies are actually doing good?”
Well, there’s an app for that (YEY!). Good On You, founded in 2015 in Australia is the app on a mission to make sustainable shopping easier. They have a easy to digest and sleek look, giving an 1 to 5 star rating and a summary on how ethical the company in question really is. Users can search by a brand or particular garment, refining the results based on price and proximity.
Good On You does all the work for you, sorting through masses of public data to assess the impact of brands on people, the planet and the animals. Companies who lack transparency will get a lower score – because how can one know what’s going on if there’s no information? We as customers have the right to know what’s going on behind the curtains. And it’s working; with an ever increasing demand on transparency, more and more companies are catching up to the sustainable wave.
I’m gonna call it as I see it; everytime you swipe that credit card of yours you are placing a vote on what kind of world you want to live in. Now sit back, take a breath and reflect on what’s important to you. Who do you want to vote for next time you go shopping?
