A route through the journal
A clearer way to explore responsible fashion
Responsible fashion involves several different questions: what you need, what a product contains, how it was sourced and which claims can be checked. Start with the part that matters to your next decision.
Try the clothing claim checklist
Turn a product claim into questions about its scope, evidence and limits. Your checklist stays on this page; it does not certify or rate a product.
Make a considered clothing choice
Bring fit, usefulness, care and sourcing information into the same decision.
- A practical ethical-fashion checklist — Five questions to ask before buying, without looking for a supposedly perfect product.
- Compare materials for the job they need to do — Think about construction, care and useful life alongside a fibre name.
- Understand cotton descriptions — Separate organic, recycled and conventional claims from the finished garment.
Read the evidence behind a claim
Learn what a label, document or digital record can actually establish.
- Check a GOTS label — Read the grade and certification details, and identify the product they cover.
- Separate disclosure from traceability — Understand policies, supplier lists, certificates and product records.
- Understand digital product passports — A clear introduction to practical uses and the current textile-policy timetable.
Ask better questions about jewellery
Treat metal, stones, documentation and long-term care as distinct parts of the purchase.
- Plan the sourcing conversation — A useful set of questions for a ready-made piece or a commission.
- Fairtrade and Fairmined gold explained — Understand the historical connection and today's product-specific questions.
- Look behind a recycled-gold claim — Check material scope, definitions and supporting records.
- Understand coral and its trade — Why identification, origin and current rules matter before a purchase.
Keep the useful bits close
Our guides use named primary sources and distinguish evidence from uncertainty. They are research-led explanations, not invented hands-on tests or blanket endorsements of brands. Use the sources and the editorial method page to see how a claim has been assessed.
Open your saved articles or browse the full journal.
How to read our guides
Our articles draw on published sources and practical editorial research. Follow the references for the underlying guidance, and use the details supplied for the particular garment or product you are considering. Read how we prepare and update our guides.