You probably know that I run recurring competitions to encourage you to write ethical consumerism reviews online. I’m happy to announce the winners for this month and also to start the clock on a new round (winners will be announced in mid-April ). Please consider entering!

Congrats to this month’s two winners: Amanda and Nicole! You will receive a gift from the World Wildlife Fund and a $55 donation, made to the WWF on your behalf (or a $55 donation to a charity of your choice, if you prefer).

Amanda: Beyers Craft Gin Truffles

Amanda’s blog, The World in Your Hands, covers planet-friendly topics such as reducing waste, ethical consumerism, and the great outdoors in South Africa. In this post, she presented her Green Stars review of a South African product, Beyers Craft Gin Truffles.

Here are some of the points that Amanda brought up in deciding on a Green Stars rating for Beyers Craft Gin Truffles:

1. Although Beyers claims a “100% sustainable cocoa supply chain” there is actually no further information or certification to back this up.
2. No fair trade certification or information on trade practices.
3. Beyers supports the Amarula Trust elephant conservation program by donating a portion of proceeds from one of their products.
4. The product contains palm oil but provides no information on sourcing for this high-impact ingredient.
   
5. Inside the box, each truffle was individually packaged in plastic. The box could also have been a lot smaller.

Amanda concluded:

In conclusion, I would love to award this company a high score because there is a lot that they are getting right. However considering the fact that they have no certification, their poor packaging and labelling, including a lot of single use plastic, and their use of palm oil which is not marked as sustainable, left me awarding them a 3/5 Green Stars rating.

Nicole: Avalon Organics Brilliant Balance night cream

The second winner this month is Nicole, who wrote a review of Brilliant Balance night cream by Avalon Organics.

Nicole’s short review hits on many of the key items.

I give it 5/5 green stars bc this product is vegan, made from organic ingredients, biodegradable, and free from a lot of sketchy additives in other creams. You can feel good knowing that you’ll be helping to preserve your youthful skin as well as the planet!

Coincidentally, I’ve also reviewed an Avalon Organics product (featured in this post on ethical shampoos) and also rated it 5/5 Green Stars. In addition to Nicole’s comments I’d say that Avalon do a good job with incorporating post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and cardboard as much as possible. Providing a market for PCR materials is especially important, these days, as the future of recycling faces uncertainty.

Thanks to Amanda and Nicole for taking the time to consider the ethical implications of their purchases and write Green Stars reviews.

Write an Ethical Review!

Let’s do this again! Winners will be announced in mid-April.

See this post for entry details, helpful resources, and more info on the prize!