Our Buyer's Guides are compiled using a system of ethical ratings, covering 5 main areas:
Click on the areas above to see a general description of each section.
Download a pdf of the full detailed definitions of all the categories we use to rate companies.
Rating Companies
Some websites or magazines look at ethical products, but Ethical Consumer is the only organisation which provides fully transparent rankings of the companies behind the brands.
Some products might be considered 'ethical', but the company that owns the brand might not be. Isn't it better to buy a cruelty-free product from a company that doesn't test its other items on animals, or recycled toilet paper from a firm that isn't cutting down virgin forests for its other ranges?
Using the tables in the magazine or our ethiscore website, you can see which companies own each brand, and their ethical record across all the different categories.
If you would like your company or products to be considered by Ethical Consumer, please download and complete this request form.
Information Sources
Most of our information comes from previously published sources. These sources include publications and reports by campaign groups like Oxfam, Friends of the Earth and War on Want.
We look at the daily newspapers, public records on pollution and health & safety prosecutions and use directories on the defence and nuclear industries.
We also request information directly from the companies on their environmental policies and reporting, and other policies, such as their attitude towards animal testing and to workers in their supply factories.