How does COSH! screen brands?

For this theme, we look at all the ethical circumstances of the brand. This means that we try to determine how people are treated throughout the entire supply chain, and how the brand is committed to ethical production and an ethical sourcing policy.
We examine the relationship between the brand and its manufacturers, and what steps the brand takes to ensure fair, safe and ethical working conditions.
What’s all part of this theme?
For small brands it is sometimes not possible to get certain certifications. That’s why the COSH! Brand Index tries to look at all the efforts the brand makes to provide safe working conditions and living wages for all the workers in their supply chain.
For this we look at the brand’s own code of conduct, its sourcing policy, and its own staff. We ask where the items are made, as some countries have a higher risk of bad social conditions or living wage violations. We also ask brands if they visit the production facilities and factories where their clothes are made. 
We look at reports and studies on the working conditions and wages in certain countries in the fashion & textile industry to ascertain the risk of unethical practices.
In PEOPLE we also look at how the brand contributes to local, social economy. For instance, if the brand donates money to a charity, contributes to cultural heritage or if it offers employment opportunities to people with a distance to the labour market. 
In this theme the COSH! Brand index also takes into account any certifications or memberships to certain social organizations (for example Fair Wear Foundation, Social Enterprise NL, etc.)

For PLANET the COSH! Brand index starts with what materials are used in the items. In this we take into account cradle-to-gate information the material used in the collections, combined and layered with information derived from their certificates or lack thereof.
Apart from the materials we also gather data on the use of chemicals and water usage in the production process (for example in dying techniques). 
In PLANET we include packaging materials and transport methods, both in transport from factories as in shipment to consumers.

Circular design means that in the design process of an item the use and end-of-life phases are already taken into account. This means that to be circular, a brand does not only use recycled materials but also makes sure that its products can be recycled after use. We determine what a brand does to minimize waste and the recyclability of the product.
In addition, the COSH! brand index examines whether the brand integrates circular business models into its corporate structure. This includes the integration of rental or resale options, repair services, and take-back services for recycling of discarded items.

In SHORT SUPPLY CHAIN, We take into account the distances a product has to travel in the supply chain, and how many companies and organizations are and to get to your doorstep. In doing so, COSH! also takes into account the means of transport used and average emissions.

COSH! works in line with ​‘Earth Logic’ theory, a holistic approach that emphasizes the correlation between the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. This way, we also take into account the potential damage that the materials used can cause to involved actors such as local communities and animal lives. For example, by assessing whether garments are 100% free of materials of animal origin.
However, we believe that the use of animal-based materials can also have positive side effects. For example, the use of alpaca wool helps support the cultural heritage of indigenous communities, other small-scale farmers or shepherding communities, and offers more recycling opportunities in the end-of-life phase of products. This also takes into account that vegan alternatives are often made of synthetic materials, from which microplastics can be released.
When a brand uses animal products such as wool, silk or leather, we try to ascertain how the animals are treated. This way, even a non-vegan brand can be animal friendly, for example when they use mulesing-free, organic, or recycled wool.

Under SLOW FASHION you can read more about the designs and style of the brand. Following the slow fashion principles, COSH! looks at the design process, discount offers and how many collections a brand launches each year. 
We also research the quality and longevity of the items and the used materials. Even the size of a new collection and how many products are produced each time are taken into account. 
To estimate the longevity of a product, we look at the quality of the materials and production techniques that are used. We also look into feedback from customers and reviews. This is not a precise calculation, but it gives us an idea of how long an item can be used. The actual lifespan of a product varies according to how you take care of it, how many times clothes are washed, etc.
A brand can extend the lifespan of its products by offering a (free) repair service or by giving tips to customers on how to take care of their purchases.

Last but not least, the COSH! Brand index assesses the level of transparency of each brand. This section affects all the previous themes. We examine how much & what information the brand shares with consumers, and how easy this information is to find.
The more information the brand shares about their materials, producers, any certificates and production methods the better the brand will be rated for this.This includes all available information on garment tags, product pages and the website of the brand.
It is also possible for brands to communicate this information to COSH! without us publishing it. This is especially important for small brands, as they often put a lot of effort into building a (long-term) relationship with their producer, and this information is sensitive to competition. Sharing the information confidentially with COSH! allows us to verify certificates and production locations without harming the brand.
Because of this COSH! Always contacts the brand to gather more information, without publishing it.

COSH! works with local, more sustainable stores to find and screen brands. At the beginning of 2023, over 900 brands were screened by COSH! at the request of our members (retailers and local entrepreneurs). Depending on their subscription, retailers that joined COSH! can annually request one or two brands from us for analysis. We screen these brands’ sustainability characteristics and claims and evaluate them according to the COSH! Brand Index. (Non-clothing brands like jewellery and cosmetic brands are also analysed, although they are not yet included in the COSH! Brand Index.)

By working this way, we aim to one day cover the entire market and be a reliable platform driven by that market. Retailers can incentivise brands to operate more sustainably, prompting us to re-analyse those brands that have made additional efforts or are suspected of having lessened them. This way, COSH! stays a retail-market driven platform with up-to-date information.

There is no minimum score for brands in the COSH! Brand Index, as we consider all seven impact themes of each brand. Since different people may interpret a single rating in various ways, we always provide a detailed text alongside the COSH! Brand Index to give a clear understanding of the brand.

We add brands to the Brand Index at the request of participating retailers. This means that even brands with less emphasis on sustainability might be featured on COSH!. These brands will typically have lower scores compared to those that make more effort across the different impact themes and communicate more transparently on their websites or during interviews.
 

While it is technically possible, we have never encountered a brand that excels in every aspect of sustainability. Sustainability is a continuously evolving field. Innovations considered sustainable one year may be deemed harmful by new research the next year.

We strive to reflect these changes in the COSH! Brand Index by staying updated with industry news and innovations. The Index is constantly evolving to comply with new regulations on sustainability reporting and to combat greenwashing. However, perfection is unattainable, and mistakes can happen. This is why we are always working to improve, and greatly value your feedback, input, and links to new studies.

No, but we try to keep it as accurate as possible. 

Many rating systems or certificates look at a brand from one angle or level. For example, the Higg index (MSI) only looks at a fibre’s usage level and pollution level. Rank-a-brand strongly emphasized the energy management of production units and headquarters. Certificates related to fair production or cradle-to-cradle are often only achievable for multinationals like G‑Star and C&A. At the same time, smaller brands sometimes offer more circular products but make too small a turnover to afford such a certificate.

COSH! focuses mainly on processing information about sustainable fashion brands and wants to make it easier for consumers to make more sustainable clothing choices. To do so, we use the information we receive through our assessments, a brand’s online claims, our industry knowledge, sustainability certificates and our critical eye. When in doubt, we search databases or request factual information. COSH! cannot go on-site to check a production process or perform checks. Therefore, we check certificate numbers whenever possible.

In addition, we check whether the textile suppliers a brand works with actually produce the fabrics the brand mentions. COSH! looks critically at a brand and considers whether the sustainability story matches the clothes the brand manufactures and sells in physical shops or via other sales channels.

The COSH! Brand Index includes a list of more than 250 materials, each evaluated based on its composition, manufacturing process, recyclability, durability, social impact, and certifications. COSH! did compare our own assessments to other environmental benchmarks, but did not rely on these. We added an Earth Logic approach to them taking into account the pitfall of blends, and recyclability after use. 

We have made an extensive list of all labels and certifications in the sector. We edit this list regularly to stay up to date. Regretfully, not every label or certificate is reliable, and they all look at different scopes in the production process, environmental/​circular/​ethical requirements, etc.

COSH! takes this into account by researching each label and assigning different values and reliability estimates. This way we strive to give a clear view of the brand, clarifying the certificates and labels so consumers will not be misled. 
 

COSH! takes the third-party audited certifications a brand (and its suppliers) has obtained into account, but this is not all-important for the evaluation of the brand’s sustainability efforts. For small-scale brands, local designers and small production ateliers it is often not affordable to be certified. Certification processes cost time and money and these small companies don’t have the means to invest in them.

This is why the COSH! Brand Index also takes into account all other efforts a brand makes to be more sustainable and/​or ethical. For example by visiting the production facilities yearly, making all products themselves, using local materials (like wool from a nearby farm), etc. Where possible we gather proof of the statements or claims a brand makes.