Reading between the symbols
Organised standards are almost always the best way to ensure that products are ethically up to scratch. However, there are some exceptions. Many local suppliers in my area have not been through the certification process, but because I know them and what materials they use and how they grow and harvest their materials and plants, I know I am getting an environmentally sound product. Mail-order catalogues and websites do not always brand products with a logo but use words such as 100 per cent recycled or made with organic materials. If you’re not sure, ask the supplier which standards they meet and decide on face value whether you want to buy the product – with or without the logo.
Wherever possible in this book I’ve tried to make suggestions for new products to save you the trouble of doing all the research, but products and companies change all the time so please use the information I have provided as a guide rather than an absolute recommendation. Also I am one writer working alone. If you have any doubts concerning a product or a company then you should refer to those organisations whose job it is to monitor standards and provide information (see above).
When you’re looking for a supplier, use these questions to know if they really are what they say they are. Ask them where do their products come from? What is their policy on recycling? What are they doing to reduce CO2 emissions? There are plenty of great ethical companies now who share your values. It takes time to find good suppliers but often the rewards are much greater than the effort. I get an enormous buzz from discovering a new company selling a new range of well-thought-out products.
Where to go for independent information and advice
CAT provides one of the best information services in the country. It has a huge database of contacts working in the environmental sector. CAT does not set standards or review company performances but will act on complaints made about companies, which can result in their removal from the database. Phone their information line on + 44 (0) 1654 705 989.
Ethical Consumer magazine is the single most important source of information about products, services and companies available to the average consumer. Each month it analyses a different set of products for their environmental and ethical performance. A must read.
Gardening Which? magazine does not necessarily focus on environmental and ethical considerations so much as quality and performance of products, but sustainability is also about how well a product performs and lasts. It does have special environmental features and as a general read for the average gardener it is extremely good.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has extremely strict buying criteria for all of its products. Each supplier has to fill out a ream of forms before the organisation will stock its goods.
Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth both produce wide-ranging reports on ethical and environmental standards and whistle-blow the illegal activities of polluting companies worldwide.
Other magazines: Organic Gardening, Permaculture, The Organic Way – the magazine of Garden Organic (HDRA) – The Ecologist, New Consumer, Free Range, Growing Green International