One way to be climate-friendly? Shop sustainably. But figuring out which products count as โsustainableโ can be hard, especially when buying online.
Third-party non-profit organisations study manufacturersโ and sellersโ practices and offer certifications that are displayed online.
Government programmes in America, such as the US Agriculture Departmentโs organic certification and the US Environmental Protection Agencyโs Energy Star efficiency standard, are also often listed. Large e-commerce websites may highlight certifications with special icons, hyperlinks to certification programmes or written descriptions.
This can mean buyers have to do their own homework on what is and is not sustainable. Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who leads a non-profit organisation that certifies product sustainability, said there is not a single clearing house that tracks which certifications are the most credible.
โTherein lies an issue and a challenge,โ said Grainger-Jones, chief executive of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. โWhat we havenโt seen so far is a third party step in and be the information portal on what a good certification is.โ