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BaggageCat t1_ix8ama3 wrote

This is a really tricky question. Most companies have multiple supply sources, and even if the garment is made in-house, in a controlled environment, you may not be able to source where the components that went into the objects were acquired or how they were made. For example, even if the shirt you bought was made by a local artisan, you don’t know if the fabric they sourced was from a sustainable source or if it was made where there’s no workers rights for textile production. And often time small biz artisans are working for less than minimum wage, but your purchase help them grow towards a real income. So you’ve got to choose your battles. Big box shops will often contract labor to a particular factory, but that factory might sub-contract to other factories without the original businesses knowledge. This is particularly the case when a company sends production to another country but doesn’t have a local representative to check on the production process. It’s much more complex and often almost impossible to know, in most cases. We just have to do the best we can, and there’s some sites that have good information out there (though they still won’t know everything). Alternately, you can buy second hand, which often is of better quality than most goods manufactured today.

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Dokayn OP t1_ix8bkxb wrote

Which internet sites would you recommend for obtaining information?

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curiosity_abounds t1_ix8mcn6 wrote

https://betterworldshopper.org

This is my personal go-to. It was built by a sociologist who was sick of how hard it was for a consumer to make decisions on a day-to-day basis since the information is hidden in layers of companies.

I have their pocket book and their app and I check them in store any time I need to make a different product choice. But primarily I pick a company for each product in my life and I try and stick with that product forever to minimize having to do the research over and over again. I have my shampoo, my conditioner, my soaps, clothes, ect.

The other way to go about it is to just avoid the F companies. They’re the largest and own all the little companies so it’s a task in it self so by avoiding the worst ones you’re accomplishing a lot

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Dokayn OP t1_ix8pz6j wrote

The only thing I don't like about the site is that there are no detailed ratings or how exactly the rating comes about.

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UsernamesMeanNothing t1_ixa2ruq wrote

That puts way too much too much power in the hands of one individual. There are plenty of times I'm told I should be enraged by someone or something without details. I'm not going to participate in sinking anyone or any thing without knowing exactly why.

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curiosity_abounds t1_ix9rt1h wrote

They share what they base their ratings on as a whole and then score the companies. Yes, they don’t have info on each company.

I use it as a quick guide and then double check every company before I decide and then stick with those products forever

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structuralarchitect t1_ix99aiw wrote

I'm a little skeptical about that site as I see Google and Youtube showing up on there under A- companies. As well as Honest Tea, which is owned by Coca-Cola (and now discontinued).

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curiosity_abounds t1_ix9rmci wrote

I think you’re right to be skeptical. I don’t think it’s kept very up to date because it was created by a single person. I use it as a starting guide because it is easy to use and the rankings include human rights. I often use it as a rapid reference when in the store and then double check the product decisions I start leaning towards individually

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stylishboar t1_ix8udr9 wrote

It’s not specifically geared toward rating sustainability/ethics, but ImportYeti has a ton of logistics data that might help with supply chain transparency.

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massinvader t1_ix9nzg5 wrote

Honestly it's nice that you mean well but the waste you or the brand creates making the products does not compare to the waste from all the warehouses that ship it to you waste in plastic every day.

This is the problem with sustainable marketing.. it's not about real sustainability it's about getting your brand over.

If you want true sustainability than grow or build it yourself.

Otherwise get the most quality durable item you can so that you don't have to purchase it again and the waste that's entailed with creating, and more so shipping it to you is non-existent.

A product could say it is super sustainable because it's made out of bamboo.. but if you have to keep buying them because bamboo breaks then there's all that waste from making and shipping you multiple products.

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frollard t1_ixaflqz wrote

Agreed. 95% of it can be answered with the country of origin tag...If not absolutely, it can give a really good sense of the probability of obvious human rights violations.

Fact is if a company prides itself in their manufacturing standards and ethics they will publish a report documenting the supply chain. If they don't brag about it, they're probably not doing it. (Same as I tell people looking for tech like laptops...if they don't brag about having an SSD, or the screen architecture, it's bad and they don't want you to notice).

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