Use GoodGuide for more ethical shopping

The tagline of http://www.goodguide.com/ is simple: 'Find safe, healthy, green & ethical products based on scientific ratings'. The database is an ever-expanding work in progress, and can be used in multiple ways. You can search or browse product categories online; you can also download a mobile app that scans barcodes in stores and allows you to see the environmental, health and social rankings of items you're considering buying. This is fantastic for the indecisive. If you often find yourself flummoxed by rows upon rows of similar products, these scores should make it easier to decide what to buy. (Of course, you might find yourself just as perplexed by moral quandaries like 'Hmm, this company has a better record of respecting labor rights, but that company does less damage to rainforests...' Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Effort involved: if you download the app, there's a fair bit of pointing and scanning, which can be quite fun. If you use the website, there's a fair bit of research.


Image from: http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/02/18/experiencing-the-paradox-of-choice-at-the-local-schnucks-grocery-store/