Methodology

Sustainable Fast Fashion breaks down and explains the social and environmental performances for five of the largest fast fashion companies worldwide, including H&M, Uniqlo, Zara, Gap, and Forever 21. Each of the five companies is given a score based off of questions such as whether these companies have a code of conduct for their workers overseas or if they only source organic cotton. The company can achieve a maximum score of six from five categories: clothing recycling, environmental operations, sourcing organic raw material, sourcing ethical animal-derived raw material, and code of conduct, . The eight categories are an aggregate of the types of programs and policies that are already in place at fast-fashion brands to ensure that the score is reflective of current best practices.

There is no hidden formula or algorithm behind Ethical Fast Fashion; the complete scoring method can be found here. The metric is reliable by extensive testing over time, ensuring that test-retest reliability. It also prides itself in its validity by creating developing categories deductively through consulting the companies corporate social responsibility reports. The best part about Ethical Fast Fashion is that the scoring method is applicable to not just these five but all fast-fashion companies! Ethical Fast Fashion also ensures that the score we give is the most up-to-date representation of the companies’ effort in achieving greatness in environmental and social issues by having it updated bi-annually.