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There are a lot of sustainable shopping choices out there and some of them are popping up on sites that aren’t specifically known for their ethical and sustainable products. Mega retailers are offering clean beauty collections highlighting brands using recyclable packaging and naturally-derived ingredients. Amazon has a section devoted to reusable and plastic-free products (just beware of the plastic packaging used for shipping). It’s safe to say that ‘sustainable’ has gone mainstream. Yet, while some of these options are from brands that are truly trying to do good, others are not. So, learning what makes one brand eco-friendly and ethical is important to ensure that your Holiday shopping dollars are supporting the brands that are making products kinder and safer for the environment.
Whether you’re seeking out specific sustainable brands or visiting a mega retailer’s ‘sustainable’ or ‘clean’ section, here are four quick questions to ask to help ensure that you’re supporting sustainable brands. Happy shopping!
What Materials Are Used?
Whether you’re buying new sheets or a dress, there are some raw materials that have a smaller environmental impact than others. Natural fibers like cotton, hemp and linen will always be more eco-friendly than synthetics like polyester and nylon, which are petroleum-based and can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. Even among natural fabrics, organic will always win. Take for instance organic cotton which requires 90% less water than conventional cotton.
The same idea applies when reading the ingredient list for beauty products. Natural is better than synthetic chemicals. While the FDA only bans 11 chemicals from cosmetics, Japan and the European Union have laws that ban 1,300+ chemicals that may or are considered hazardous to our health and to the environment. For instance, oxybenzone, a sunscreen ingredient, is believed to increase coral reefs’ vulnerability to bleaching and has been banned in several regions where marine life could be harmed.
How Is It Packaged?
Most of us can list multiple reasons why we should stay away from single-use plastic items like bags at the check-out counter and straws. But, what about packaging? How many times have you walked home with a new purchase only to have a waste bin full of plastic trash after unwrapping it?
An estimated 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging were generated in 2018. 69.9% was landfilled.
Environmental Protection Agency
Sustainable shopping involves sustainable packaging. More often than not sustainable brands will make conscious choices to stay away from plastic and minimize packaging materials. Some opt for packaging made from post-consumer waste materials. Other sustainable brands use recyclable paper products. More cosmetic brands are offering take-back programs where glass and metal containers can be returned to the store to be safely reused and recycled.
Who Makes This Product?
Several years after the eye-opening Rana Plaza tradgedy, the fashion industry has become aware of the importance of transparency when it comes to understanding how clothes are made. Most clothing is made by people, not machines. And, these people have been exploited, overworked, underpaid and oftentimes put into unsafe working conditions all for the sake of a pretty dress. Organizations like Fashion Revolution have lead campaigns asking brands to be transparent about the factories they partner with in an effort to highlight the struggles many garment workers face. There has also been a push for certifications such as Fair Trade, Global Organic Textile Standard, WARP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) and others to ensure that fair and safe working conditions are enforced.
Whether a brand vets factories itself or relies on third party certifications and organizations, transparency about these issues are important. Are wages livable and fair? Are benefits and paid-time off a part of workers’ contracts? Sustainable brands will often have an ethics page highlighting how their products are made. Others choose to take customers behind the scenes with images and videos of factories or artisans making their products. Both are good ways to help a customer engage in ethical shopping.
How Does The Company Protect The Environment & Community?
The best way to practice sustainable shopping is to shop brands that invest in protecting the environment. As mentioned earlier that begins with the raw materials they choose to work with. Some sustainable brands also give back to organizations that protect the oceans, marine life, or the local community where their products are made.
Use These Templates To Ask Brands To Practice Sustainable Consumption
If you’ve heard of the term carbon neutral, you might know that it’s a way for brands to balance their environmental impact by investing in areas that will reduce greenhouse gases based on their carbon emissions. Through a tailored process that begins with measuring a brand’s carbon emissions from the raw materials stage to the disposal of the product, brand’s are able to set goals with clear strategies to reduce carbon emissions and offset their impact. For instance, a brand might plant trees for every product sold. The idea behind this is that manufacturing and shipping produce carbon emissions and trees can absorb CO2 in the atmosphere. Other initiatives might involve switching to a factory that only uses renewable energy or recycled water.