In the Good On You methodology, there is embedded conditionality that ensures certain brands are assessed only on the issues relevant to the products they offer and the practices they engage in.
That means an answer establishing a brand's practice in one issue can impact the score weighting of other sections of the methodology. Or it could render other questions or question groups irrelevant, in which case they are disabled in the assessment and their score weighting becomes zero.
This does not impact the scoring potential of any brand because there are routes to score points for positive sustainability practices that are suitable and achievable regardless of business type, product mix, and inputs in production.
There are many instances where questions are disabled as they are established as irrelevant for the brand. Those disabled questions are not scored, and typically the weighting of the issue remains the same and the brand is assessed on the questions that are relevant to it. For example:
Materials and certifications: When it is established that a brand doesn't have a particular certification or material in its mix, further enquiry about the nature and proportions of those practices is not relevant. The brand's score is derived from the answers related to materials and certifications that are applicable to them.
Code of Conduct: When it is established that a brand does not have a Code of Conduct there is no further enquiry required about the nature of the policy. The weighting of the issue stands and the brand scores zero.
Key cases for conditionality in the fashion methodology
Some key cases for the fashion methodology are summarised below, where a brand’s product range and material usage increase or remove the baseline weighting of an issue while calculating the pillar score.
CDP Climate and CDP Water
Brands that are asked to disclose to CDP on the Climate and Water reporting standard have their respective CDP grades stand-in for our assessment across other water issues on the Good On You’d methodology questionnaire.
In the climate change area, climate change measurement and climate change reduction issues are disabled and the score and weighting are zero. Instead, a brand’s climate change score is derived from its CDP grade along with answers in the issues climate change targets and climate change progress v target.
In the water area, all other water issues are disabled and the score and weighting are zero. The entire water score is derived from the brand’s CDP grade.
Microfibres
The weighting of the microfibres issue depends on the proportion of products in a brand’s range that use oil-based synthetics such as polyester and nylon. If the brand does not use any synthetics, other questions in the microfibres issue are disabled, and the score and weighting are zero (ie it has no impact on the pillar and overall score).
Applies to: large brands
Deforestation
The weighting of the deforestation issue depends on the proportion of products in a brand’s range that use materials derived from forests, or are related to deforestation, such as leather, rubber, metal, precious stones, and cellulosic fibres. If the brand does not use any materials derived from forests, other questions in the deforestation issue are disabled, and the score and weighting are zero (ie it has no impact on the pillar and overall score).
Applies to: large brands
Leather tanning
The weighting of the leather tanning issue depends on whether leather is a dominant material in a brand's production. If the brand does not use any leather, the entire leather tanning issue is disabled, and the score and weighting are zero (ie it has no impact on the pillar and overall score).
Applies to: large and small brands
Solvent use
The weighting of the solvent use issue depends on whether shoes are a dominant category for a brand. If the brand does not sell shoes, the entire solvent use issue is disabled, and the score and weighting are zero (i.e. it has no impact on the pillar and overall score).
Applies to: large and small brands
Sandblasting
The weighting of the Sandblasting issue depends on whether denim is a dominant category for the brand. If denim makes up less than 40% of the brand’s collections, the entire sandblasting issue is disabled, and the score and weighting are zero (ie it has no impact on the pillar and overall score).
Applies to: large brands
Animals product range and materials
Brands that only make products where it is rare to use animal-derived materials are not assessed in the animals pillar. Their overall score is derived from only the planet and people pillar scores in that case. The rest of the animal pillar issues are disabled and the score and weighting on "range and materials" are zero.
Vegan brands and those using just silk, insect dyes, and/or pearls are also not assessed on most animal welfare issues, except for "animal citizenship". The animals pillar score and applicability to the overall score still apply, but the score is derived only from answers on "Range and Materials" and "Animal Citizenship". All other animal pillar issues are disabled and the score and weighting are zero.
Some other animal-derived material assessments are only relevant to a brand if it is using a particular animal material. For example, the "leather commitments" and "mulesing commitments" issues are disabled if a brand does not use leather and wool, respectively. The "conventional animal materials" issue is only relevant if animal-derived materials make up more than 1% of a brand's total materials. In such cases, those issues are disabled, and the score and weighting are zero.
Applies to: large and small brands