Ethical Consumer Magazine and Website

www.ethicalconsumer.org

The parent company of Ethiscore - which I previously talked about on this blog - are a fantastic organisation that researches companies business practices. They research the operations of companies then recommend them based on their actions AND quality and price.

As they say on their website:

20 years of independent research into the social and environmental records of companies.

Discover the truth about the brands and products we buy, from baby food to broadband, washing machines to wine.

Learn about alternative products from more ethical companies, what to avoid and what are the Best Buys.

Once again you can find quality products, good value, and ethical conduct. Everyone wins again!

Due to the fact that no funding comes from advertising there is a yearly fee to subscribe.

Ethiscore

www.ethiscore.org

A friend of mine advised me to avoid overuse of the term "ethical" on this blog if I wanted to reach more than just those who had already converted to the environmental cause. The environmental cynic would supposedly be turned off by talking about ethical companies as shopping ethically is, I assume, so hard to do. After all most companies out source to third world nations for labour, engage in harmful pollution, and put the bottom line ahead of everything else.

I used to agree, however, I'm finding out there's a lot of great changes going on out there and a lot of opportunity to use companies that are more ethical and environmentally friendly. The more consumers change their spending habits the more companies will change their ways.

Which brings me to Ethiscore.

Here's a great organisation that researches and ranks companies based on their ethical conduct. It researches companies practices in the following areas.

Environment (Environmental Reporting, Nuclear Power, Climate Change, Pollution & Toxics, Habitats & Resources)

People (Human Rights, Workers' Rights, Supply Chain Policy, Irresponsible Marketing, Armaments)

Animals (Animal Testing, Factory Farming, Other Animal Rights)

Politics (Political Activity, Boycott Call, Genetic Engineering, Anti-Social Finance, Company Ethos)

Product Sustainability (Organic, Fairtrade, Positive Environmental Features, Other Sustainability)

So now you can find out which companies are the most ethical and take it from there. My plan is to look at companies ethical and environmental policies and then look at price and service. If the price is way too high then I just won't use them. If there service is not good then I won't use it either. I'm certain I'll end up using a company that has better ethical and environmental practices than if I hadn't looked into it though.

As mentioned earlier on this blog I signed up for a Smile bank account based on the fact they have a great ethical policy, great rates, lower fees and great customer service. According to Ethiscore.org they rate a 7 out of 20 which is surprisingly low. The highest bank was Norwich & Peterborough internet banking and they rated just 13.5 out of 20. I could hang my head and give up or I could note that Lloyds TSB (my former bank) ranks a shocking 2.5 out of 20. In fact most of the big banks rank 4.5 or under. Go to http://www.ethiscore.org/ to see the rankings.

Ethiscore is a consumer funded organisation so there is a fee to join. 15 pounds gets you a years subscription.