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This is how we create our ecoRating. The process is somewhat more complicated than this, but these are the basic steps we take. Please use our Contact Us link at the left of the page if you have any further questions.
Step 1
Find a manufacturer that says they have products manufactured with materials from sustainable sources.
Ways to find them:
Step 2
Ask the company about more details on the origin of the raw materials, manufactured materials, and final manufacturing. Most companies will have this information readily available because they have (like us) realized that such information is important for the consumer. Some companies, however, have a tougher time finding such information - these companies tend to use materials that come from environmentally and socially questionable sources.
Step 3
Make sure that the information from Step 2 are acceptable in the sense of sustainability. If information in Step 2 is either difficult to verify or shows portions of the product as being non-sustainable, this is as far as we go. Examples of things that we look at to disqualify a product: non-organic cotton, manufacturing in a country with poor or no employee protections, petroleum based, etc..
Step 4
Talk with the manufacturer to get a further sense for what the company is like. We want to know if they are doing anything over the ordinary in some aspects. Examples of what these things could be: using only renewable power, donating profits, implementing cradle to cradle type processes, etc.. Additional information can usually be found on ther website as well.
Step 5
Rate the product and complete the description.
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