Questions to ask brands before supporting them
We have an enormous amount of power as citizens. The fashion industry exists to clothe us, and so we influence the fashion industry not only by voting with our dollar, but by telling the fashion industry what we think is important, and what we want to see from it.
Asking brands questions before supporting them is an important way to make sure you know what you’re really supporting. Even if you’re not planning on buying anything from a brand, asking questions and letting them know your thoughts is a valuable form of advocacy towards a total ethics fashion system protecting people, our fellow animals and the planet we all share.
Before asking questions to brands, it’s worth telling them what you like about the brand and its style, so that your question seems more worthwhile to them. For example, ‘I love the look of all the boots in your collection, but before I can buy them, I need to know…’
What questions should I ask a brand about the people who make their clothes?
Do you pay a living wage to all of the people who sew your clothes? If not, what are your plans to change this?
Remember, if a brand tells you that they pay ‘fair’ wages, but don’t say they pay ‘living’ wages, this is not the same thing. A ‘fair’ wage is not a legally defined term, and what a brand thinks is ‘fair’ may not truly be so. Unless brands are paying living wages to garment workers, the people making their clothes are being kept in poverty, unable to afford their basic needs. That’s not fair.
Do you trace your entire supply chain or only tier one? Are people further back in your supply chain working in safe conditions for a living wage? If not, what are your plans to change this?
Fashion supply chains are broken up into different tiers: tier one is where clothes are sewn, and where garment workers are. Tier four is where raw materials are produced, for example a cotton farm. The tiers between 1 and 4 involve processing raw materials into fabrics ready for sewing. People at all stages of fashion production are at risk of exploitation, so we need to encourage brands to consider all of these people.
What questions should I ask a brand about how they treat animals?
Which of your products are completely free from animal-derived materials, so that I can ensure I’m not paying for cruelty to animals?
A brand that answers this question might try to tell you that they source animal-derived materials ethically, for example, by referring to a certification like the Responsible Wool Standard. Unfortunately, every conventional animal-derived material supply chain slaughters animals (even in the wool and cashmere industries), and the treatment of animals as objects to harm and take from for the sake of profit is core to these systems. If a brand tries to tell you an animal-derived material is ‘ethical’, consider sharing one of our material pages to them, asking if they address all of the issues outlined (they won’t be able to).
Some of the products you sell appeal to me, but I don’t want to wear animal-derived materials. What are your plans to move towards more total ethics, animal-free materials?
Asking a brand if they have a timeline for the phase out of animal-derived materials, and what innovative alternative materials they are exploring is a great way to show the industry what citizens want. Brands are often worried about trialling new materials, but with encouragement from the public, they’re more likely to make the change and support a just transition beyond materials like leather, wool or down.
What questions should I ask a brand about how they treat the planet?
Does your brand support slow fashion, and if so, how?
Letting brands know that you are trying to avoid fast fashion which contributes to pollution, waste and further environmental crises helps remind brands that they need to slow down. If brands genuinely support slow fashion, they should be able to tell you about some of their efforts to:
- Produce less clothing (rather than releasing new styles regularly)
- Support their customers in wearing their clothes for longer (through care and repair programs and education)
- Avoid pressuring their customers into making purchases they don’t really want (using scarcity marketing tactics)
- Support a circular fashion system (where clothes are worn longer, and able to be recycled or composted).Are the materials your brand uses responsibly and sustainably sourced? What independent information can you provide to support this?
It’s important that we don’t automatically take what brands say as truth. A brand might say they sell sustainable leather for example, but be using a certification like Leather Working Group to promise this – a certification which fails to address major environmental problems (not to mention ethical issues).
Brands dedicated to the planet should be moving beyond the use of both animal-derived and virgin fossil-fuel based materials. Avoid these materials, and ask the following questions about specific materials:
Cellulosic materials like lyocell, viscose and rayon: Are your cellulosic materials free from old-growth and native deforestation? Are your materials endorsed by CanopyStyle or the Forest Stewardship Council? Are they processed in a closed-loop?Synthetic materials: Are your synthetics made from post-consumer recycled materials? Do you recycle clothes into new clothes, or use other waste-streams such as discarded ocean fish nets? Do you use bio-based synthetics, which are able to biodegrade?
Cotton and other plant fibres: Are your plant fibres grown on farms which use more holistic management practices? Can you tell me about the use of pesticides, irrigated water, tillage, rotational cropping or anything else? (It’s important farms do not overuse pesticides and herbicides as they can cause harm to surrounding environments and people. It’s also important that farms do not use enormous amounts of irrigated water, and that they use practices which protect soil health. Look out for myBMP, GOTS, Fairtrade, Good Earth and other more responsibly sourced cotton).
