What is it about?
A peek behind the curtain to understand the methods and data analysis behind the Better World Shopper (a 15-year public sociology research project) rating system for ethical consumers [www.betterworldshopper.org] to understand the social and environmental sustainability of companies.
Featured Image
Photo by Wes Carpani on Unsplash
Why is it important?
While there are 4-5 major projects like this in the world, this article focuses on making the methodology transparent for the Better World Shopper rating system which turns 35 years of data from 76 data sources on 2200 companies into A to F grades rating the overall social and environmental sustainability of companies.
Perspectives
As a public sociologist, this project represents one of the major contributions of my research to consumers who are increasingly demanding more transparency, accountability, and responsibility from their economic institutions. This system allows ethical consumers to cut through the greenwashing that runs rampant in our contemporary global marketplace.
Ellis Jones
College of the Holy Cross
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Can We Quantify Ethical Consumption?: Reflections on a Decade-Long Exercise in Public Sociology, Humanity & Society, November 2019, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0160597619882472.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Better World Shopper
Here is the website version of the rating system
Better World Shopper App
The Better World Shopper app (iOS/Android) allows ethical consumers to make informed choices about brands and companies by providing an A to F rating based on the company's record in the areas of: human rights, environmental sustainability, community involvement, animal protection, and social justice.
The Better World Shopping Guide, 6th Edition
The Better World Shopping Guide rates hundreds of products and services from A to F, so you can quickly tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys" and ensure your money is not supporting corporations that make decisions based solely on the bottom line. Drawing on decades of meticulous research, this completely revised and updated sixth edition will help you find out who actually "walks the talk" when it comes to: Environmental sustainability Human rights Community involvement Animal protection Social justice Small enough to fit in a back pocket or handbag and organized in a user-friendly format, The Better World Shopping Guide helps you reward companies who are doing good, penalize those involved in destructive activities, and change the world as you shop!
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
