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How we decide what's ethical

The judgement rests on two layers. First, a verifiable socle: recognised third-party certifications, each issued by a body you can check. Second, a short editorial note adding context — a trade-off, a caveat, a reason a product earns its place.

We never invent authority. A product's ethics are only ever as strong as the labels it holds; the note explains, it doesn't certify. Every certification below links back to its issuer so you can confirm the claim yourself.

⚠ Entries are sourced by searching certification directories and link-checked automatically, then machine-curated. Confirm any mapping against the issuing body before relying on it as a published guide.

How we read a composition

For a cosmetic that means the INCI list as printed on the pack, in order — INCI runs from most to least concentrated, down to 1%. For a manufactured object it means one row per component, because a claim that holds for the body of a kettle routinely doesn't hold for its lid.

Each entry is matched against a reference table where every row cites the authority behind it. We flag four states, and each is a statement of what a regulator lists — never a verdict of our own.

Why there is no score out of 100

A composite rating hides its own weightings. “78/100” looks like a measurement, but it is an assertion of authority nobody granted us, and you cannot audit it.

What we publish instead is an evidence score out of 4, where every point is a yes-or-no check you can verify on the page itself:

  • This product is certifiedIt holds at least one certification issued by an independent body — not by its maker.
  • Covers more than one dimensionIts certifications span at least two of nature, people and animals — not strong on one axis while silent on the rest.
  • Composition publishedWe hold the full ingredient or materials list, per component where it matters, read from the maker's own listing.
  • Composition mostly checkedAt least half of what it's made of has been matched against our sourced reference table.

Every check is about the product in front of you. A company-level certification is shown on the page as context, but it never lifts a product's score — the same maker can ship a certified line and an uncertified one.

That measures how much we can prove — not how ethical a thing is. A genuinely well-made object carrying no certification will score low here. That is the metric working, not failing.

The certifications we recognise