Eco-Friendly Shopping: How Do You Know if a Brand Is Sustainable?

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Last updated on December 11th, 2023 at 11:21 am

Shopping with eco-friendly brands is a great way to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Though with so much noise surrounding brand sustainability, knowing what products are truly ethical can be a headache. Read on to discover the green lights you are making planet-friendly choices so you can check out with a smile.

How to research a company’s sustainability and ethics?

One of the biggest challenges of knowing if a brand’s sustainable is not just what to look for. It’s where to look for it. With many of us shopping online, finding the information to know we are making eco-friendly choices is tricky. Transparency is a good sign you are in a green place, and truly ethical brands will have an easy-to-navigate environmental page that runs you through all of their eco-friendly credentials. Look at the bottom of websites for a tab, and if you cannot find it, email their customer service team with your questions. Another way to research sustainability is by doing a google search on them. Brands with a good reputation will have many mentions across blogs and various publications praising their efforts. Reviews and product scores can also be found on sites.

If you shop in-store, you can look at brands’ packaging to see if they reference sustainability or ask a store expert for more information. Researching brands before you shop will help you confidently decide what stores and aisles to head for.

What is greenwashing?

This may be a term you have encountered in the media or the eco-friendly community. If you are wondering, it does not mean turning your clothes green. Greenwashing is when a brand claims that its products are eco-friendly when in fact, they are not. This can quickly tarnish a brand’s reputation and make them headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fluffy marketing and inadequate claims can break consumers’ trust and confidence in their shopping experience. Certain buzzwords and the use of natural, green imagery can suggest a brand is more sustainable than it is. To avoid being fooled into purchases that can harm the planet, you need a clear idea of what makes a brand sustainable.

Why Bamboo
Woman Hugging Panda London Memory Foam Bamboo Pillow

Fancy packaging and expensive marketing techniques do not make a product planet friendly. Let’s look at what it does and how you can be sure you are truly shopping sustainably.

What makes a brand sustainable?

The good news is with increasing awareness of global warming and how the products we use can affect the environment, many brands are making the effort to operate more sustainably. Here are some ways you can scale how eco-friendly their products and production process is to take a holistic choice about how to shop with.

Bamboo French Linen Himalayan Pink horizontal

Are they certified?

A textbook way to check a brand’s eco-friendly credentials is to familiarise yourself with certifications to look out for within their industry. For example, when shopping for bamboo products, an OEKO-TEX 100 certification ensures the products are free of harmful substances. Regarding manufacturing, a SMETA certification ensures workers have safe working conditions and are remunerated fairly. There are various other certifications to look out for depending on the product you are purchasing that is worth looking into.

Packaging

Easy things to look out for on packaging are whether it is recyclable and whether it is made from recyclable materials. Two ticks here are a good indicator you are shopping with a brand that has the planet at heart. Recycling can help to save up to 904kg of CO2 every year.

Production process

Taking a look at a brand’s production process from A-Z is a great way to assess its sustainability score. We make every effort to ensure our production process is eco-friendly from forest to front door. From fully recycling packaging to a pickup service for your products at end of use to ensure they are disposed of responsibly. We go the extra green mile to give you confidence when you shop with us, you are making a kind choice for the planet.

woman hugging hybrid bamboo pillow

Transparency

Above all transparency is key. While making efforts to implement more environmentally friendly practices can take time and be expensive, every penny is worth protecting our beautiful world. Brands owe consumers the truth and should be clear and assertive about the steps they are taking to go green and where they can do better.

We are committed to continuing our journey towards a greener world here at Panda. Come and join us @Pandalondon.

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