Welcome to the Good Human Series, a space where we celebrate the good in humanity by sharing the stories of impact focused individuals making a positive change in the world through their work.

Cast your mind back to 2015. It’s been 2 years since the tragic Rana Plaza garment factory collapse, which captured the attention and hearts of people globally, and for many was an eye opener into the injustices of the fashion industry. The idea of shopping sustainably is becoming less of a niche, it’s more mainstream. But then arises the question, how can we find sustainable brands, and what makes them 'sustainable' anyway? Enter Good On You, the leading brand ratings platform, founded by Gordon Renouf and Sandra Capponi in Australia, 2015.

Built on the ethos “Wear the change you want to see”, Good On You is designed to save us all from hours of trawling through the internet trying to gather evidence surrounding the worker conditions, supply chain transparency, raw materials, waste management and so on of our favourite brands.

Good On You gives each brand a rating based on their impact on people, planet, and animals. Ratings are based on brand or parent company reporting, third-party reports, certifications, accreditations, and other standard systems.

Whether adding-to-cart in store or online, it added a simple but significant step to the purchase process. See something you like, quickly search the brand on the app or directory, and use the rating to help inform your choice.

Today, Good On You is used by millions of people worldwide, has rated thousands of brands, and formed partnerships with sustainable fashion advocate and actress Emma Watson, retailers like FarFetch and tech leaders such as Microsoft.

For co-founder Sandra Capponi, Good On You is the perfect marriage of her expertise with a background in corporate social responsibility, her passion for humanity, and her love of fashion inspired by her mother.

Today on the Good Humans Series, we chat to Sandra about how Good On You came to be, how it feels to see someone use the app IRL, and what consumer products Good On You aim to expand into next.

Relaxing at home, Sandra wears the Diana Jean

OD: Before Good On You was born and delivered into the hands of shoppers around the world, you worked in the banking and Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR) sector. What did this highlight to you about the role of business in being a vehicle for positive change, and how did this inform what the Good On You platform came to be?

SC: Yeah, I worked for many years in the corporate sector here in Melbourne, where I learnt a lot about how businesses operate, both the good and the bad. Starting out, I thought business was supposed to be about creating products and services that made people's lives better. But when I saw how much was happening behind the scenes that did the exact opposite, I started to question why.

When I discovered the world of CSR, I felt much more hopeful about the possibility for business to be a force for good in the world, a force for driving positive social and environmental change. And for many years, I worked on really exciting projects from pay equality and supply chain sustainability, to financial literacy programmes in indigenous communities.

But I kept facing a lot of resistance. And I got tired of trying to convince colleagues that doing good was fundamental to good business. So I started looking for other solutions for other forces for change. And when I met my co-founder, Gordon back in 2015, and heard his idea for rating brands to inform consumer choices, I instantly knew I wanted to join forces with him and to build Good On You.

I knew then that the solution I was looking for was to use consumer demand, or in other words, people power to drive industry change.

Relaxing at home, Sandra wears the Diana Jean

OD: Social impact has been a constant throughout your career, but is fashion an area that has alway interested you? Is there another industry that you and the Good On You team would love to one day extend the scope of the app to include?

SC: I've always loved fashion. That most definitely stems from my mother whose fashion sense is kind of legendary in our family. As a young migrant from Italy, mom's first job here in Australia was at a knitting factory, actually not too far from where I live today.

Years later, as a proud Italian mama, she raised her three daughters to always put our best foot forward, even when we have little means, and to take care in how we treated ourselves, in how we treated one another, and in how we treated the people and places around us. And all of that was often tied to what we wore, and how we looked after our belongings, and how we presented ourselves, to do all sorts of things to give us confidence and make us feel good, while also staying conscious and true to our values.

Some of my favourite things to wear still today are vintage pieces from mum's wardrobe.

But a few years back, I started to hear about the horror stories of the poor working conditions of people making clothes and the mounting environmental problems. I became really uncomfortable buying clothes without knowing where they came from and how they were made. It still shocks me today to know that fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world and is responsible for the exploitation of millions of garment factory workers, often young women.

That's one of the main reasons why we decided to focus Good On You in fashion to start with. The issues are so widespread and concerning. And by focusing on one industry, we've been able to focus on building a movement of shoppers who want to affect change. But we've always had our eye on a much bigger picture. There are similar supply chain issues in many other industries. And consumers can play such a vital role in shifting business behaviour there too.

At Good On You, we plan to expand to other consumer verticals like beauty, where the issues are similar and consumers' appetite for sustainable alternatives is just as strong, from beauty to homewares to electronics that the opportunities are endless.

OD: If you had the opportunity to speak to every individual in the world for a moment what would you say?

SC: Well, I would say to them: your choices matter. So many of us care about protecting people, the planet and animals and are worried about the problems that fashion and other industries are creating in our society and for the environment. But many of us fall into the trap of thinking that the responsibility to fix this lies somewhere else, that it's up to big brands and governments to act.

It's true - companies and governments do need to step up. But we all have a role to play to. When each of us make choices to support and buy from brands that do good instead of harm, we're sending a really strong signal to the market to change, to address the issues we care about, and to produce more sustainably. And collectively, the impact is very real and very powerful.

OD: How does it feel as a co-founder to catch a shopper using the Good On You app IRL?

SC: Oh, it's the best feeling. And I'm noticing it more and more. My friends and family often contact me to say they overheard people talking about Good On You. This didn't happen overnight, but it means the world to think that after six years of hard work, people have noticed and are using the tools we've built to take action themselves. People are recognising the power that they have to create the change they want to see in the world. It's our mission coming to life, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

OD: What gives you hope?

SC: These last years, in particular, have challenged many of us to stay optimistic about humanity's capacity to find solutions to the rising social and ecological problems across the globe. But I can honestly say that I feel more hopeful than defeated going into 2022. And it's because of the community that we've built at Good On You, it's a community of people who contact us every day, saying that they've had enough of supporting brands that don't protect people and planet and that Good On You has changed the way they shop.

Named in honour of our favourite 'mum jean' aficionado, the Diana is a '90s inspired straight leg fit refined for today with contemporary details.

OD: What’s on the horizon?

SC: Well, 1000s more ratings and millions more consumers buying better. In the last 12 months alone, we've tripled our team size, recruiting new people across different continents, from North America to Africa. And I'm so excited about what our amazing, passionate team can build together. And the growing number of people and companies that we can reach and inspire to create a sustainable future in fashion and beyond.

To learn more about Good On You, see how your favourite brands rate, and download the app, visit https://goodonyou.eco/.

Then, we invite you to explore more of the Outland Journal, for more stories of humans doing good things.