I’ve been a bit busy lately and neglected to remind you about the ongoing Green Stars Project contest where you can win a one-year subscription to Ethical Consumer. This is now a recurring monthly contest – enter anytime!

To be frank, it’s not easy getting people to join in and write Green Stars reviews. I know that everyone’s busy and also worn out by the last 18 months of Covid, politics, and the increasing evidence of climate change. Although it’s tempting to retreat into Netflix, social media, or whatever’s your poison, it’s more empowering to take on the challenges that we face – most critically, climate change.

Why is thinking about ethics so hard?

I’d like to hear your opinions on the main barriers to partaking in the Green Stars Project. Is it a feeling of futility, that expressing your opinion on corporate ethics won’t make any difference? Or is it more of a time & effort issue – that evaluating a business/product seems like a lot of work? Or something else? Please comment below to let me know.

If you feel that it’s a lot of work to write a Green Stars review, I encourage you to start with something simple. Just comment on a couple of basic aspects of the company or product. For example, a café that serves ethical coffee or a product that’s made with sustainable ingredients. You may find it easier (or more motivating) to review a product that you find unethical – like bottled water from Fiji or chocolate from Hershey.

It’s perfectly fine to keep it short and sweet – it doesn’t have to be a complex analysis. My reviews tend to be more lengthy just because I’ve been doing it for so long that it has become second-nature to evaluate things. You also don’t have to be an expert – you’ll get better at it as you go along. Virtually nobody is an expert in all aspects of ethical consumption.

Win a one-year subscription to Ethical Consumer

To enter the competition, all you need to do is write a review of any product or business that includes an ethical rating (on a scale of 0 to 5 Green Stars). Then just let me know via email (jmskrb at gmail) or using the contact form on this site. The winner, announced at the end of September, will win a subscription to Ethical Consumer for one year.

Ethical Consumer, a UK-based nonprofit, is probably the best resource on all things related to ethical consumption. The Ethical Consumer Research Association (to use its full name) maintains a database of over 40,000 companies, brands and products. The organization, which is structured as a cooperative, publishes regular guides to most things that money can buy as well as a bimonthly Ethical Consumer Magazine.

You can access a free sample issue of the Ethical Consumer Magazine by signing up for the mailing list. Here are a couple of images from the free issue that’s currently available – it’s focused on fast fashion.

Winners of the contest will gain access to Ethical Consumer’s shopping guides as well as the magazine (print or digital). If you would like to subscribe to Ethical Consumer, here’s an incentive: Green Stars Project readers can get 14 months of Ethical Consumer access for the price of 12 – just use the code “greenstars” in the notes field on the subscription order review page.

I look forward to receiving your entries! Let me know if you need any guidance – I’m happy to help 🙂