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!
In this post I’m going to outline a game plan to incentivize all the lonely Starbucks lovers to finally start bringing their own reusable cups! The bonus stars that you earn by bringing a personal cup will score you a free bag of coffee beans in no time. If you select organic beans, this will put a little extra pressure on Starbucks to source ethically. Continue reading Starbucks Lovers: Bring your own darn mug! PS: Free coffee!
I was surprised to see that actually not much has been written about ethical perfumes. Here I take a look at Matiere Premiere, a fairly new French perfume company that aims to be ethical. It’s the only major perfumer to grow its own raw materials – organic roses and tuberoses in the Grasse region. I picked up a Matiere Premiere Discovery Set at the Parfumarija in Dublin and share my Green Stars rating. Continue reading An excursion into the world of ethical perfume – Matiere Premiere
Beef and legumes, the most popular sources of protein in the animal and plant worlds, respectively, are at opposite extremes in terms of environmental and social impact. There has been a large-scale war playing out over this dilemma – here is a summary of some of the battlegrounds. Continue reading The war over the most critical ethical dilemma
Many large food corporations tout in-house programs for ethical ingredient sourcing, usually represented by a catchy name and a logo. Should we trust, avoid, or ignore them when aiming to make an ethical purchase? Continue reading In-house ethical sourcing logos: trust, avoid or ignore?
What are the best chicken nuggets from the perspectives of taste and ethics? I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but since Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget just came out on Netflix I figure it’s a good time to put this together. Continue reading The tastiest and most ethical plant-based chicken nuggets
In terms of carbon footprint, the best choices among seafood are small pelagic fish (e.g., sardines, herring, mackerel, anchovies), farmed bivalves (e.g., mussels and oysters), and wild salmonids (e.g., salmon and trout). Small fish like sardines are also less prone to bycatch issues. Continue reading What’s the most sustainable kind of seafood?
Honestly Tasty has raised the bar on the plant-based cheeses available in the UK and Ireland. They have achieved this through the use of more interesting ingredients, compared to many vegan cheeses, as well as fermentation and ripening steps. I recommend trying out their Shamembert, Bree, or Blue cheese. Continue reading Honestly Tasty raises the bar on vegan cheese
Sales of plant-based meat substitutes are stagnating in the US – in fact they have been dropping since 2020. Competitive marketing tactics by the meat industry have focused on the perils of ultra-processed food. Continue reading Support for plant-based meat is slipping in America
Supermarkets in Europe often completely lack ethical soap options, with shelves dominated by synthetic liquids in plastic containers. It takes some effort to find ethical soap in Europe but this guide will help. Continue reading Coming clean in Europe – we need to do better on soap
Originally posted on Grocery Outlet Ethical Bargains:
Nurishh vegan Camembert is made in France for Bel Group, one of the largest and oldest cheesemakers in France, whose other brands includes Babybel and Boursin. Bel Group launched Nurishh in 2021 as its first 100% vegan brand, but has also recently introduced vegan versions of Babybel and Boursin (I picked up some vegan Babybel at the Grocery… Continue reading Nurishh vegan Camembert – ethical rating
