BrandAware

 A U.S. Toy study found all kinds of hazardous toxins in children's toys.  Almost half the toys tested contained PVC, a plastic which can have adverse effects on people, especially small children who might put things in their mouth.

Some of the products listed as being of "high" concern are:

• High School Musical argyle belt: tested to have high levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic.
• Disney Princess Sandals: found to have high levels of bromine.
• Marvel Hot Rodz cars: high levels of lead.
• Cupcake clip watch: high levels of cadmium.

That's right: lead and arsenic.  Maybe don't pick your niece up that High School Musical belt this Christmas.


CBC: U.S. toy study finds toxic substances

The Corporate Critic Research Database is run by the same people who do the Ethical Consumer Magazine. Unfortunately, most of their database is by subscription only and it isn’t at all cheap. For £21.28 (which is about $38 Canadian) you can look at the database for ONE day and the rates go up from there. Obviously this website is targeted towards corporate or large NGO applications.



BrandAware is all about the free and open access to brand information, but for some people this might be worth the investment. What you can use Corporate Critic for is to do a quick to search to see a company’s ‘ethiscore’. This won’t tell you why they received that score, but it might have some useful functions.

CorporateCritic.org

Disclaimer: Currently, I am not much of a stock market investor. As a student who is about to graduate from University, the only investing I've been doing for the last few years is "in my future," or so I've been told repeatedly by the bureaucrats who take my tuition cheque every year.

However, I am very interested in the idea of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). The idea behind SRI is basically the ethical shopper's version of investing. Instead of investing purely in whatever company you think will be the most profitable; you only choose to invest in companies whose ethics you agree with. (This should sound pretty familiar to BrandAware readers and ethical shoppers.) For the most part this means investing in green energy, and new technologies that are promising sustainability.

The question on most investor's minds is: 'Is this still profitable?' Well, the answer is complicated. There are reports that claim SRI is profitable and other that don't. SRI is a slow but growing movement and so there is still a lot of time for SRI-only investment firms to soar or to flop.
According to Zoe Van Schyndel:


Apparently, SRI funds aren't some stock market secret for making millions overnight, but they are a viable investing option. Furthermore, one would have to logically think that the more people get on board with ethical consumerism by boycotting companies they disagree with, the more ethically conscious companies will flourish and the better their stock will do.

If you are interested in SRI investing, there are firms that do specific SRI investing that you can check out.

More Information from Investopedia

One of the best ways an individual can send a message to a corporation is through what they choose to buy and not buy. Every time you but something you are essentially 'voting with your dollars.' Even the most unethical companies are concerned about their profits. If more and more consumers boycott companies they feel have unethical practices, those companies will either make the necessary changes to become more responsible brands or go out of business.

Companies pay attention to buyer trends. Why else do you think every major company has jumped on the green bandwagon and is now trying to look environmentally friendly? Although it may not seem like it, companies do pay attention, especially when you threaten their bottom line. If everyone stopped buying products made in sweatshops, it would be a matter of weeks before companies cleaned up their act.

For those of you that are new to the idea of ethical consumerism, allow me to present:

Definition:

Ethical Consumerism: is the intentional purchase of products and services that the customer considers to be made ethically.

An Example:

Let's say that we have two shoe companies: Nikey and Brand Green. (Subtle, aren't I?) You've heard that Nikey uses sweatshops and sometimes abuses their factory workers. Also, since their products are made overseas, there is a lot of fuel and resources used in shipping the shoes to the store where you might want to buy them. This has a negative effect on the environment. Furthermore, Nikey shoes are made out of leather and you may or may not find this acceptable depending on your views of animal rights.

Brand Green on the other hand, makes and assembles their shoes in Canadian and American factories and pays their workers fair wages. They also make their shoes out of man-made post-consumer recycled materials.

Ethical consumerism means two main things:

1. Finding out what a company's practices are before buying one of their products.
   
2. Buying only from company's whose practices you agree with. (This might be different for every person.)
   

This is an oversimplified example and things are rarely even this straightforward. Usually finding out information about things like a company's real labour practices and environmental policies is very hard, and often the cost of ethical goods can be a significant difference making it hard for people on lower incomes to afford. Most importantly, companies rarely fall into categories of good and evil, like the scenario I painted above. But don't give up! That's why brandaware.org is here, to help you navigate this complicated process and become an informed, active citizen.