White Stuff

How ethical is White Stuff?

The Good Shopping Guide gives White Stuff, a British fashion and lifestyle brand, a high Ethical Rating. White Stuff receives an excellent Good Shopping Guide Ethical Score in our Ethical Fashion Retailer Ratings Table and has therefore met our minimum Ethical Benchmark. White Stuff’s sustainability and ethics policies have been researched and evaluated by The Good Shopping Guide and after this, we encourage White Stuff, and other Ethical Fashion brands, to apply for Ethical Accreditation.

In what areas does White Stuff perform well?

White Stuff’s Code of Conduct is thorough; a Code of Conduct is important because it allows consumers to hold brands accountable for their actions, and treatment of workers in the supply chain. Similarly, to White Stuff’s credit, it is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which encourages brands to keep striving for better traceability and better working conditions for those in the supply chain.

The brand’s Animal Welfare Policy also receives a good score; White Stuff have a comprehensive AWP which rules out mulesing, killing or using the body parts of endangered species, or sourcing fur. Its policy also mentions the Five Freedoms, which list best practices for the care of the animals who are in the brands’ supply chain. (The Five Freedoms are particularly important as White Stuff does sell wool products; this use of wool is something that vegans should be aware of.)

In what areas does White Stuff perform poorly? 

For our Environment criteria, White Stuff does not perform well; although they have a ‘Sustainability’ section on its website, this is vague, with little detail and very little data relating to targets or progress so far. For such a large brand, White Stuff should be publishing an Environmental Report with much more information, a comprehensive roadmap for future targets and clear documentation of its emissions, waste and other environmental impact statistics. Both consumers and investors need this kind of information if they are to know which businesses have a sustainable business plan for the future, and for meeting the UK’s Net Zero 2050 targets.

Similarly, in our Organic criteria, White Stuff is also vague about its organic accreditations. It should be noted, however, that White Stuff does stock products that are made with Fairtrade cotton, and this initiative may go some way to alleviate customers’ concerns about the ethics of this brand’s cotton production.

How can the White Stuff brand improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide’s score results from 15 ethical criteria in relation to White Stuff. To see its score improve on our Ethical Fashion Retailers Ratings Table, White Stuff should address its vague Environmental Report, and look to improve its cotton production and supply chain accountability. White Stuff would be more thoroughly investigated and researched if it applied for Ethical Accreditation, which could also improve its Ethical Rating on our table.

To find out more about White Stuff’s sustainability and brand ethics, see its website.

If your fashion brand values ethics and sustainability, why not check out The Good Shopping Guide‘s Ethical Accreditation? Increase customer and investor confidence and stand out from the greenwash.