Action #4: Buy products from socially responsible companies
Figuring out who are the good guys and the bad guys in the corporate world can be a time-consuming process. What's more, when you finally get it all sorted out, you still have to change your purchasing habits to better reflect your values. We've tried to take out that initial hardship by doing much of the research for you. After thorough investigation, cross-comparisons and synthesis, we've created a list of good and bad companies that is both practical and up-to-date.
Our list rates companies on a relative scale from POOR (the most socially irresponsible) to EXCELLENT (the most socially responsible). We've considered research that rates these companies on many issues, including: diversity of employees and management, charitable contributions, community involvement, working conditions, involvement with oppressive regimes, environmental stewardship, corporate citizenship awards and on-site daycare.
3 Ways To Use Our Socially Responsible Shopping List
(1) Go through each product category and see if you can make product choices that would be more socially conscious than what you are buying now.
(2) Pick out at least one product category and commit yourself to buying from a company rated EXCELLENT. For those products in the EXCELLENT category that you may not be able to find locally, we've provided their web addresses.
(3) Avoid as many products as possible made by companies in the POOR category
We've used over 20 different sources to rank products and companies. Here are some of the most valuable sources of data:
Council on Economic Priorities and Shopping For A Better World
Business Ethics magazine
Boycott Action News and Boycott Action Quarterly
Co-op America and Co-op America QuarterlyWe consider our Better World Shopping Guide to be the most comprehensively researched, up-to-date, and easy-to-use list available. See the guide.