These posts take examples of everyday items and examine a few social and environmental factors to consider in each case. The goal is not to be the authoritative guide to ethical consumerism. Rather, the Green Stars Project is all about user-generated ethical consumerism: I eventually want to see Green Stars reviews on the sites we all use (Yelp, Amazon, etc.) so that they are visible to everyone. So, these posts aim to help you to make your own decisions, wherever you live. And please consider incorporating a Green Stars rating next time you review something!
Is the Campbell Soup Company ethical? We’re going to evaluate Campbell’s, which owns several brands of interest (Pacific Foods, Kettle Brand, Late July, Snyder’s, and Rao’s) based on two perspectives: Campbell’s public reputation and a more objective analysis of corporate responsibility. Continue reading The Ethical Guide to… Campbell’s. How to evaluate a large corporation
Are Tetra Pak cartons awful, from an environmental viewpoint? Shelf-stable packaging has some big advantages of reducing food waste and the need for refrigeration. Tetra Pak’s aseptic cartons contain a layer of aluminium that’s hard to recycle but the company recently developed a paper-based barrier layer to replace the foil. Continue reading The Ethical Guide to… Packaging: How bad is Tetra Pak?
What kind of laundry detergent should we seek out, as ethical consumers? Both laundry pods and sheets are made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) so we’ll take a look at that. Powder is a good format and now it also comes pre-measured in the form of tablets. I tried out PVA-free tablets from popular brand Blueland and report back on that. Continue reading The Ethical Guide to… laundry detergent. Liquid, powder, pods, sheets, or tablets?
For anyone gravitating towards a plant-based diet, it’s natural to wonder about which animal products cause the least harm. Eggs are a much better choice than cheese or meat, with much smaller environmental footprints. There are still ethical downsides to eggs (male chick culling) which are being addressed by advances in science and technology. Continue reading The Ethical Guide to… Eggs. In-ovo sexing takes off
I’m happy to announce that I’m launching a new updated ethical guide here on the GSP! If there’s any topic that you’d like me to cover, let me know. This is your chance to join in and shape Climactic to your needs and desires! Continue reading Launching the Ethical Guide!
Amazon announced that it will cease software support for older Kindles from May 20, 2026. The company wants you to buy a new device. Don’t do this! You can continue using your Kindle by bypassing Amazon. Continue reading Amazon kills older Kindles. Time to start sideloading!
What’s the most ethical protein, brah? Last week I published a graphic showing different kinds of butter, dairy and non-dairy, ranked from 0 to 5 Green Stars. Following up on that, here’s a graphic showing ethical scores for various sources of protein in our diets. Continue reading Sustainable Food: Ethical ratings for different protein sources
I’m sharing a post from Ethical Bargains that evaluated Ivy’s Reserve carbon-neutral butter. UK-based Wyke Farms launched this butter in 2023, a year after releasing “the world’s first carbon neutral cheddar.” In the end, I scored Ivy’s Reserve butter 2/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact and at the same time realized that this is close to the maximum score that I’d give a dairy-based butter product. Is this fair? Continue reading Butter: I can’t believe it’s not ethical!
Which third-party certifications are effective and worth supporting? Third-party certifications can be a cornerstone of ethical consumption so it’s important to know which ones are effective – especially when governments don’t value the environment and allow corporations to run amok. Here’s a summary of eleven certifications that have been evaluated here on the Green Stars Project. Continue reading The GSP guide to third-party certifications
Compostable plastics vary in their environmental footprints but some of them are significantly better than petroleum-derived plastics in key respects. Of course we need to use reusable items as much as possible, but the inherent benefits of compostable plastics suggest that they are worth backing. Continue reading The environmental impact of compostable plastics
