1 July 2024
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Quantifying sustainability.
In times of crisis, driven by inflation, geopolitical tensions, shifting consumer demands, and climate disintegration, sustainable stores are proving resilient, but how can we quantify sustainability for a store or brand? COSH!’s relaunched, innovative screening tool and platform provide transparency and a clear path for sustainable fashion.
The fashion sector faces significant problems, accounting for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, rampant exploitation of workers, and the degradation of natural resources. The Fashion Revolution Week that just ended, lasting from April 22nd to the 29th, marked a decade since the Rana Plaza factory disaster that claimed the lives of 1,134 people and was commemorated by COSH!.
The latest IPCC report desperately calls for more sustainable consumption, and according to research by McKinsey, 67% of the population would like to purchase more sustainably. But unfortunately, the word sustainability itself has become co-opted and diluted, and differentiating sustainable products from non-sustainable ones is a task most consumers capitulate before. Countless sustainability labels, with many brands utilising greenwashing communication tactics, make it clear why 48% of people need help knowing where to begin.
This is where Niki de Schryver’s sustainable fashion tech platform COSH! Conscious Shopping Made Easy comes in having completely revamped its platform. “We want to make circular and slavery-free products mainstream,” the entrepreneur boldly states. COSH! expertly unites all certifcates, fibre information and curently available recycling option in an earth logic algorithm that analyses brands and stores whilst providing a user-friendly platform. Various stakeholders were thoroughly interviewed, their interaction with the platform was analysed, and the results were processed in COSH!’s local retail-focused platform. With its mission to raise awareness of individual purchasing power and to guide conscious shoppers to more sustainable and local shopping choices, COSH! is helping reshape the future of retail.
The store and brand screening tool with an earth-logic approach.
COSH! quantifies the sustainability of shops and brands and makes the results instantly understandable to the consumer. The new COSH! Brand Index examines a growing database of over a thousand fashion brands based on seven sustainability criteria far beyond fibres. The final score ranges between 0 and 100 and is assessed based on seven themes: people, planet, supply-chain length, circularity, animal welfare, longevity and transparency. “The data from all transparency tools, labels and certificates feed into our algorithm, resulting in an index for each brand as a whole,” says Niki de Schryver.
Based on materials or countries with which a brand works, the COSH! brand index algorithm calculates potential risks that play a role in the background. For example, numerous corrective factors are applied to the sometimes questionable LCA scores of materials that are often only measured from fibre to undyed yarn, failing to include the entire life cycle of a garment. In addition, the distance travelled within the supply chain, worker welfare, the potential harm of microplastic pollution or the impact on cultural heritage is currently not included in any screening tool.
Stores can also calculate their COSH! store index in just seven minutes based on the brands listed in the COSH! Index, in combination with the packaging and energy consumption of the store as well as potential other positive actions they undertake. The city of Hasselt has already tested the beta version of the COSH! Store index. All 400 entrepreneurs were asked to partake in the city screening, resulting in 5% of the participating shops achieving the COSH! sustainability label and being featured in the city shopping guide. COSH! Is now tracking the sustainable progress for the above mentioned stores. This approach allows COSH! to accompany smart cities in transitioning to climate neutrality before 2050 by helping them establish a sustainable retail strategy. From now on, the new platform can also measure the transition for cities and municipalities on their way to climate neutrality through the Green Deal or the Covenant of Mayors.
A new look.
The platform has also been given a new look to support the technological advancement of COSH!‘s screening methods. A new house style has been developed to inspire as many people as possible to shop sustainably. New functions and filters have been added to the website, making finding budget-friendly, local and sustainable products even easier.
In the extensive brand overview, for example, you can filter for sneakers costing up to 150 € and filter the results by their level of sustainability, which is shown here with a score from 0 to 100. As soon as you click on the brand of interest, its full COSH! Brand Index is revealed, with each theme being covered in detail.
The COSH! community is growing strongly month after month, now fully established in Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Mechelen and Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hasselt. Through its merger with the Spanish platform Ethical Time, it is now also positively impacting the Spanish retail scene.
