Happy Earth Day 2011 - How To Find Earth Friendly Companies!

Clip art courtesy of Bobbie Peachey

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Voting with your Wallet!
How would you like to cast a vote about things you strongly believe in each and every time you make a purchase? Wouldn't you like to support socially conscious companies - companies that display a code of ethics, use renewable energy, protect animals, pay fair wages and give back to their local communities? And wouldn't you like to avoid companies that use child labor, pollute the environment, factory farm and discriminate? Seems impossible to do but thanks to a man named Ellis Jones who spent 5 years investigating 1,000 different companies with regards to these issues, it's not difficult at all! 
Dr. Jones created a website, Better World Shopper, that provides all the information you need. A big thanks to my son, Vaughn, for turning me on to this great site. Now I'd like to share it with you! Pass it along to your friends!

This is how Better World Shopper ranks companies

Better World Shopper
This site ranks companies from airlines to wine.
For example:
* Seventh Generation has the highest rating for baby care products while Nabisco, Gerber, Nestle, Luvs and Pampers have the worst.
* Nature's Path and Barbara's are among the highest ranked for cereal while Kraft, Nabisco and Back to Nature are dead last.
* For the best chips Barbara's is the best ranked with Garden of Eatin', Terra and Kettle chips close behind while Pringles and Nabisco are the worst.
* Endagered Species, Rapunzel, Equal Exchange, AlterEco and Divine are the best ranked chocolates while Nestles, Perugina, Toblerone and Crunch are at the bottom of the list.
* For the best cleaning products, Seventh Generation, Oxo Brite, Earth Friendly, Method and Dr. Bronner's are ranked the best while the worst ranked include household names like Soft Scrub, Joy, Procter & Gamble, Ivory, Swiffer, Dial, Mr. Clean and Dawn.
* Highly ranked coffees include Thanksgiving, Cafe Human, Equal Exchange while the worst ranked include Maxwell House, Gevalia and Sanka.  The omnipresent Starbucks got a B+.
* OK girls, I've got to cover cosmetics too. Aveda (thank goodness, my favorite), Aubrey, EO, Zia, Body Shop, Colorganics, Kiss My Face and Pangea are on top with Dr. Hauschka close behind. Max Factor, Olay and Covergirl are on the bottom!
* Getting back to food, Organic Valley and Nancy's are ranked the highest for dairy alternatives but some of our favorites like Wildwood, WholeSoy, Stonyfield Farm and So Delicious are close behind. Cool Whip and Carnation are dead last!
* We all resort to an energy bar now and then. Clif, Luna and Alpsnack are at the top of the list with Nutiva, Nature's path, BumbleBar, Optimum, Larabar, Raw Revolution and Health Valley close to the top. On the bottom you will find Balance, South Beach and the ever popular PowerBar!
* For meat alternatives, Amy's, Fantastic Foods, Wildwood and Sunshine Burgers are highly ranked while Boca was on the bottom! This was disappointing - I like Boca burgers. My other favorites, Primal Strips, got a "C". 
* Kettle is the highest ranked peanut butter and jelly with Cascadian Farms, Maranatha, Arrowhead Mills and Woodstock near the top. Peter Pan and Knott's are on the bottom with the popular Skippy almost failing with a "D+".
* For the best ranked pizza, Amy's is on the top with American Flatbread a close second while Tombstone, Stouffer's, DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen and Boca all getting the lowest grades.
* Honest Tea, Tao of Tea, Choice, Traditional Medicinals and Equal Exchange are the top ranked teas with Numi, Zhena's Gypsy, Guayaki and Republic of Tea very near the top tea companies. Nestea is on the bottom and Lipton is pretty far down also with a "D+". 
* As an owner of a small vineyard, I can't forget to mention wine! For the best ranked wine, visit your local vineyards! Frey, Fetzer, La Rocca are also near the top. There were no "F" grades given but Sterling got a "D".
These are just a few examples and I only included the companies at the very top and the very bottom for each categy, so you should check out the complete rankings.


For Convenience, Buy the Guide
For a small guide you can carry with you when shopping, buy The Better World Shopping Guide. I just did! 

Happy Shopping and Happy Earth Day!