How great would it be to have the possibility of browsing through a mall, grocer, hardware store or any place that you buy products locally, nationally and internationally and instantly know the complete background of the brand and the product.
How it’s made – Sustainable materials, post consumer waste distribution, price comparisons to other products.
Where it is from– Location and shipment procedures.
Associations with the brand– What they stand for and believe, other products they make, social or environmental movement they support.
A vision that several colleges have come up with in the University of Oregon SOJC is something along the lines of a Iphone scanner, giving full transparency about the brand selling the product.
Now a days, consumers have several sources peeking into this idea, giving them a platform to discover what the brand and company is all about but all are missing some links into the social movement aspect of what the brand really believes in.
This website and app enables consumers to get evaluations of the health, environmental, and social impacts of products such as toys, food, and household products. Although giving great details about the product, they leave out what the brand is doing for these environmental and social implications. I think that knowing what the company and brand stands for is just as important as knowing about the product.
This site is produced by consumer input and opinion on the messages and negative advertising companies use to represent themselves as green. Although useful in information on what products to avoid and what companies are the worst green washing offenders, it gives little detail into the products overall information and nothing about the brand involvement in sustainability movements.
Since American consumerism depending on transparency and sustainability is at an all time high, having a platform to seek out all information about a company, brand and product in one place would certainly bring to light those who are dominating the market for the better good of the world and environment.
4 Sustainability Principles (paraphrased)
1. We are not extracting substances from the earth at a rate faster then they can be restored and/or allowing them to build up on the earth’s surface.
2. We are not subjecting nature to man made chemicals that cannot be broken down.
3. We are not physically degrading the earth.
4. People are able to make their basic needs.
Jessica Jean Things 