Greetings, Lego Grim Reaper here.
In a perfect world, every product on the supermarket shelf would have a Life-Cycle Assessment.
But one of those takes over a year per product and would take around 2,000,000 years.
By which time, everyone will be dead (which I honestly cannot wait for🤞).
It would also cost trillions. Elon. Looking at you.
So, any solution for sustainability scoring has to be scalable. The data has to be valuable, up-to-date and continuously improving.
so how do you choose your products at the moment?
How do you really know how sustainable and ethical a product is?
Well, you can do one of two things:
1. Understand how products are made by looking at what a brand tells you in the hopes they’re not bullshitting c**ts (but don’t hold your breath for some big ones).
You can do this by looking for CSR reports, a sustainability page on their website, information on the packaging or any content the brand shares.
2. Understand how products are made by looking at their certifications and accreditations.
You can do this by looking at what certifications and accreditations a brand has. Check the packaging and their website and wherever else you might find them.
After that, you can stroll down aisle 4 at Sainos and make more informed decisions on which toothpaste to buy. Unless you don’t brush your teeth, which is gross and I will take you to an early grave.
That's how it works currently.
We’ve thought of a better way to do it.
By providing all this information at the point of purchase AND review, we can collate your interpretation and other people's to create a valid and accurate score.
You don’t ever get a single interpretation of all the sustainability information but 100s of people’s interpretations - a consensus.
With the combined collective intelligence of people, armed with all the necessary sustainability information in one place, for the first time, consumers can play a part in shaping a company's sustainability strategies. The best part? You get to call them out if you think they're bullshitting you.
Creating accurate, easily digestible and game-changing wherefrom scores surfaced on the platform alongside tonnes of data. Certifications and Accreditations e.g. B Corp, Soil Association, Fairtrade. To guide consumers at the point of review and through the point of purchase.
One last little gem before I leave back to the day job.
There’s a world beyond the scores.
Bringing consumers to the table for the first time in a meaningful way, where your opinions really matter will encourage brands to come and talk more openly about these issues. Let's keep putting pressure on them to engage.
Those who don’t, leave that to me.
Yours Grimly,
A Begrudging Guide
(I love global warming because I'm a bastard)