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!
I bought Impossible Burgers at the Grocery Outlet and compared to them to Beyond Meat burgers. I rated the Impossible Burger 3/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact but want to know what you think. Continue reading Impossible Burger – how would you rate it?
My previous post on Amazon.com, Inc. included a poll asking: How Ethical is Amazon? Please vote in the poll if you didn’t get a chance yet – I’ll discuss the results in a future post, and maybe dig a bit more into the social and environmental impact of Amazon. This post is going to focus the following question: How much can you trust Amazon? As … Continue reading Can you trust Amazon?
The previous post looked at the carbon footprint of plant-based milk, focusing on a recent paper from researchers at the University of California. The main conclusion of that post was that plant-based milks tend to have similar carbon footprints, and that they are all a lot lower than the footprint of cow’s milk. The research also shone a light on how much processing and packaging … Continue reading Califia Protein Oat Milk
How do plant-based milks compare in terms of sustainability? Here, I want to specifically look at the carbon footprint of various plant-based milks, versus dairy milk. One of the key takeaways from this research is that the carbon footprints of most plant-based milks are similar, and all of them are significantly lower than that of cow’s milk. Continue reading The carbon footprints of plant-based milks
There are more reasons than ever right now to support local businesses instead of purchasing gifts from Amazon. This post takes a look at the impact of Amazon’s business model, Jeff Bezos’s wealth (over $200 billion) and asks you to vote on a survey: how ethical is Amazon? Continue reading Poll: How Ethical is Amazon?
The Grocery Outlet is a supermarket based mainly on the west coast of the US that specializes in food and wine bargains. It started off in San Francisco when, back in 1946, James Read sold food at a discount that he had purchased from government surplus supplies. The idea is still the same – the Grocery Outlet is able to sell food at a discount … Continue reading Ethical review of the Grocery Outlet
In this post I’m going to do an ethical review of shoes from an Australian brand, Etiko, and decide on an ethical (Green Stars) rating. Since turning vegetarian at 15, I’d relied quite a bit on Converse High Tops as my go-to leather-free shoes. Converse used to make shoes in the US but eventually went bankrupt and was bought by Nike, who moved production to … Continue reading Ethical vegan shoes from Etiko
Dean Foods, the largest dairy company in the US, filed for bankruptcy this week. Sad news for employees, but perhaps a positive indicator for ethical consumerism. Is the myth of the ethical consumer becoming a reality? (The myth of the ethical consumer refers to the idea that, while many of us prioritize ethical choices in theory, sales data indicate that these choices are often not … Continue reading Dean Foods bankruptcy and ethical consumerism
Ecosia is a green internet search engine that uses revenue from advertising to fund tree-planting projects. So, let’s take a look at the ethics and utility of Ecosia in more detail. Continue reading Green Search Engine – Ecosia
Tofurky (made by the charmingly-named Turtle Island Foods, based in Portland, Oregon) has been around since the 1980s and is still a family-owned company. Founder, Seth Tibbot had this to say about the journey: Armed with my life savings of $2500 and a passionate love for soybeans, I rented a small space in the back of the Hope Coop Café in Forest Grove, Oregon, and … Continue reading Daily Footprint, #35 – Tofurky
The Green Stars Project 