With every dollar we spend, we decide which businesses grow, which crops are planted, and how our products are made. Consumer Ecology was created to assist consumers to balance their purchasing with their ecology.
Our mission is to empower consumers to make more environmentally friendly purchases.
By making more environmentally friendly purchases, we strive towards sustainability, however, sustainability is a moving target. Consumer Ecology defines sustainability as the ability to provide a good or service indefinitely. Sustainability means no mining, no fossil fuels, no habitat destruction, no landfilling, and no collapsing water tables. However, any new environmentally friendly purchase, even made once per week, can add up to large changes. We will recommend the most resource efficient purchases, but only if they are sustainable.
There are many environmental problems that need attention, but Consumer Ecology has chosen to focus on land use, climate change, and water use. These problems have some of the greatest impacts on the environment.
Methods:
We have spent endless hours searching through academic literature and industry reports so that you don’t have to. Consumer Ecology is a bridge between science and society, and between knowledge and action. Whenever possible, we will rely on life cycle assessment to compare the services provided by different products. Life cycle assessment is a form of environmental accounting that measures every drop of oil, every kWh of electricity, every pound of fertilizer etc. that goes into a product, from the materials extracted to create it until its disposal.
However, not all life cycle assessments are performed equally, and we will ensure that only the highest quality studies are used as sources. We are committed to full transparency, and we are always looking to improve our methods. If you have any comments, please Contact Us.
