Shareholder and Consumer Action
Advisory Committee
Better World Shopping Guide
How can we be socially and environmentally responsible consumers? Ellis Jones has put together a guide that will help us, The Better World Shopping Guide. This guide gives a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable set of rankings on the social and environmental responsibility of businesses and corporations. The following categories were used to grade the companies: the environment, human rights, community involvement, animal protection, corporate crime, discrimination, employee treatment, philanthropy.
Every six weeks, a particular product area will be presented from The Better World Shopping Guide. We hope that this will help you make decisions so that you will be a socially and environmentally responsible consumer. The author states that this guide is too small to contain all the data that went into ranking each of the companies. To read the specifics, visit www.betterworldshopper.org
| Grades |
Retail Stores |
| A |
Often these companies were created specifically to provide socially and environmentally responsible options for consumers. A handful are merely responsibility leaders in their industry. |
| A+ |
|
| A |
Stonyfiled Farms
Straus Family
Ben & Jerry's, Soy Delicious
|
| A- |
Celestial Seasonings
Natural Choice
Wholesoy, Rice/Soy Dream
|
|
| B |
These companies tend to represent mainstream companies that are making significant progress in turning toward more people/planet friendly behaviors. |
| B+ |
Double Rainbow, Julie's, Newman's Own
|
| B |
Starbuck's
|
| B- |
Dole
|
|
| C |
Companies that fall in the middle either have mixed responsibility records or insufficient data exists to rank them relative to the other companies. |
| C+ |
Weight Watchers
Godiva
|
| C |
Tofutti,Crystal, Fruitfull
|
| C- |
Breyers
Klondike
|
|
| D |
If a company ends up here, it is involved in practices that have significantly negative consequences for humans and the environment. |
| D+ |
Dove
Snickers
|
| D |
|
| D- |
Healthy Choices
|
|
| F |
This category is reserved for companies that are actively participating in the rapid destruction of the planet and the exploitation of human beings. Avoid these products at all costs. |
| F |
Dreyer's
Haagen Dazs, Nestle
|
|
This guide does not contain every company or every product. The guide provides a few guidelines that may help.
- If company’s products are certified fair trade, you may assume that it falls into the A range.
- If a company’s products are certified organic, you may assume that it falls into the A- or B+ range.
- If you don’t know the anything about a particular company or brand, assume that it falls into the C range.
- Unknown companies producing clothing and shoes should be assumed to have a D or F.
To find out about a particular company that you do not find in the guide, go to www.betterworldshopper.org
