Radical relaunch of Ethical Consumer magazine

For over a decade, Ethical Consumer magazine has been digging for dirt on the corporations behind consumer brands, reporting on a wide range of ethical issues, from sweatshop labour to the long-running Nestlé boycott. Ahead of its time when it first emerged in 1989, it has been a valuable resource for those seeking an alternative form of political participation, by enabling consumers to direct their spending towards progressive companies that embrace meaningful change. Ethical Consumer publishes product reports in a similar vein to Which? magazine, but with a totally different angle - it focuses not on product efficacy but on corporate responsibility.

Now the magazine has been relaunched with a more striking design, with the aim of spreading the message of ethical consumption to a new audience. The latest issue of Ethical Consumer, published this week, also introduces changes and improvements to its ethical rating system, designed to reflect the changing face of today's multinational corporations.

For example, in recognition of the trend towards 'greenwashing', companies profiled in the magazine are now required to reach a higher standard in their environmental reporting to receive favourable ratings. In other words, "companies producing little more than a sheet of paper with broad statements of good intentions will now receive the lowest rating along with those that haven't even bothered to go this far".

Ethical Consumer's Money pages have also been given a fairly radical makeover. Every issue will now contain information on the performance of the UK's top ethical funds, along with details of the exclusionary criteria of their ethical policies.

Ethical Consumer...

is the UK's leading alternative consumer organization

maintains the most comprehensive database of corporate ethics in the world - tracking over 30,000 companies, compiled over 20 years, updated daily by dedicated researchers

employs a unique ethical scoring system - ethiscore - constantly informed by the leading edge of campaign groups

is a not-for-profit worker's co-operative completely independent of corporate interests

Ethical Consumer's unique ethiscore system rates companies on their social, ethical and environmental performance. Companies are rated in over twenty categories across four main headings - Environment, Human rights, Animal rights, Politics. Products are then rated for their positive ethical and sustainability features.

For more information on the ethiscore rating system click here.