Brands receive an overall score out of 100 which is based on an average of their score in the key pillars—people, the planet, and animals—weighted equally. This score is then translated into one of five rating labels according to a set of rules. We updated these rules to obtain a distribution that better served our purpose.
“Great” (5/5, 85 to 100 out of 100): These brands demonstrate leadership in all three pillars. They are typically very transparent and have both strong policies and strong assurance (for example, from relevant certifications or standards systems) to address the most significant issues across their supply chain.
“Good” (4/5, 65 to 84 out of 100): These brands adopt policies and practices to manage multiple issues across their supply chain and often demonstrate leadership in one or more areas.
“It's a Start” (3/5, 45 to 64 out of 100): These brands are transparent about their policies and practices to manage some issues and are making good progress on one or more of them.
“Not Good Enough” (2/5, 10 to 44 out of 100): These brands disclose some information in one or more areas and consider some issues but do not yet sufficiently address the impacts across their supply chain.
“We Avoid” (1/5, 0 to 9 out of 100): These brands disclose little to no relevant or concrete information about their sustainability practices. In some cases, the brand may make ambiguous claims that are unlikely to have any positive real-world impact.