Ethics and Integrity

Sixated asks readers to trust our judgement about what to buy, wear and try. That trust is the entire business. This page explains the ethical commitments that protect it, in plain language, with no comfortable vagueness.

No pay-for-coverage. Ever.

The most important line first: no one at Sixated accepts payment, cash or in kind, in exchange for coverage, a favourable review, or a higher ranking. A brand cannot buy its way into a guide’s six picks, cannot pay a writer to be kinder, and cannot purchase a link inside editorial copy. If money changes hands to reach our audience, it happens through clearly labelled advertising or sponsorship, on the opposite side of a firewall from editorial, and it changes nothing about our independent recommendations.

Gifts and PR samples

Beauty brands send serums; fashion houses send samples; homeware companies send the new kettle. This is standard, and we accept review samples so we can test products our readers care about. Our rules around them are strict:

• Receiving a product free never obligates us to cover it and never guarantees a positive verdict. Most gifted items are tested and quietly set aside.
• We disclose when a featured product was a PR sample or gifted for review.
• Editors do not keep gifts as a form of compensation for coverage; samples are working tools, and high-value gifts are declined, returned or handled under our internal gifts guidance so they cannot function as a bribe.
• Lavish hospitality, all-expenses trips and “gifting suites” are treated with the same suspicion as cash. Where we attend a brand event or accept travel that is relevant to a story, we disclose it.

Conflicts of interest

Our editors are people with lives, friends and, occasionally, financial interests. We manage that honestly. Writers disclose to their editor any personal, family, financial or professional relationship with a brand or founder they might cover, and they step back from covering anything where their independence could reasonably be questioned. We do not let an editor review a company they hold equity in, consult for, or are personally close to. Where a relevant connection exists and coverage still makes editorial sense, we disclose it to readers inside the piece.

Affiliate revenue, stated openly

Sixated earns affiliate commission on some purchases made through our links, at no extra cost to you. We think that is a fair way to fund independent journalism, but it comes with obligations: commission never determines the picks, never sets the ranking, and never stops us recommending a cheaper option, a secondhand buy, or nothing at all. You will always be able to tell when a page can earn us commission, and our Review Methodology explains how the firewall between picks and payment works.

A corrections culture, not a corrections page we hope you never find

Getting things wrong is inevitable; hiding it is a choice, and not one we make. Sixated treats corrections as routine maintenance, not embarrassment. When a reader or editor spots an error, we check it, fix it, and note substantive corrections openly. We would rather be publicly right than privately mistaken. Report anything that looks off to corrections@sixated.com, or read how we handle it on our Corrections and Fact-Checking pages.

Boundaries

Some things are simply not for us. Sixated does not cover gambling or casino content, and we decline advertising in gambling, crypto speculation and adult categories. We would rather leave money on the table than compromise what our name means to a reader.

Questions, concerns or a conflict you think we have missed? Write to editorial@sixated.com.