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Ethical Consumer’s Best Buy Label scheme

Ethical Consumer's Best Buy Label gold standard for ethical shopping

Our Best Buy Label is the last word on ethical labelling making it even easier to find the products and services that reflect your principles.

What is the Best Buy Label?

The Best Buy Label is a certification label scheme for everyday products and services that Ethical Consumer recommends as being the best ethical choice for shoppers.

Whether you're looking for an ethical bank or coffee company, the Best Buy Label is the gold standard for guaranteed ethical shopping.

As a trusted name within the ethical business community, Ethical Consumer has now signed up almost 50 of the UK's most ethical companies to the scheme that helps shoppers make the best ethical choices.

Examples of adverts by some Best Buy Label brands

Avoid greenwash

With consumer product labels now appearing on an ever increasing number of ethical, we consider that the Best Buy Label helps shoppers make the right ethical choice.

What's unique about the label is that it looks in detail at the ethical record of the company behind the product plus the environmental and ethical record of the product itself.

We believe that this approach helps shoppers avoid falling for ethical and environmental claims that turn out to be little more than greenwash.

For example, a jar of coffee could be labelled as being organic, Fairtrade or both but be made by a controversial multi-national corporation and would never receive our Best Buy Label. 

How does a product or service become a Best Buy?

In each issue of Ethical Consumer magazine we examine the ethical and environmental track record of the companies behind everyday products and services from bread to banks.

Using the Ethical Consumer's extensive database, our researchers rate both the product and the company behind the product against more than 20 animal welfare, environmental and human rights criteria.

Based on these findings we recommend a number of Best Buys.

These recommended Best Buy companies are then eligible to sign up to our Best Buy Label scheme which enables them to use the label to show shoppers that they are a genuinely ethical company.

Find out more about our ratings system.

 

Get the Best Buy Label for your brand

Detailed information for businesses wanting to learn more about our Best Buy Label scheme. 

 

Best Buy Label brands

Here are the current ethical products and services which carry our Best Buy Label. 

Look out for them on the high street and online.

Logos of the Best Buy Label holder brands

Clothing & Shoes

Brothers We Stand

Online retailer selling ethical and sustainable menswear

Shopping guides: Ethical Clothing Brands

www.brotherswestand.com

Ethical Wares

Cruelty-free footware and clothing mail order company.

Shopping guides: Shoes

www.ethicalwares.com

THTC

The Hemp Trading Company is an award winning, ethically driven clothing label, specialising in eco-friendly, politically-conscious street-wear.

Shopping guides: Ethical Clothing Brands, Ethical T-shirts

thtc.co.uk

Energy

100 Green

An independent sustainable energy company, 100Green sells 100% Ofgem-certified green and renewable electricity and gas to homes, businesses and organisations in the UK.

Shopping guides: Gas & Electricity

www.greenenergyuk.com

Ecotricity

Launched in 1995, Ecotricity has built the most renewable capacity of any renewable energy company, mostly in wind.
Shopping guides: Gas & Electricity

www.ecotricity.co.uk

Good Energy

Advocating green energy by enabling homes and businesses to be part of a sustainable solution to climate change.
Shopping guides: Gas & Electricity

www.goodenergy.co.uk

Heat Pumps

Kensa

Scoring well across all Ethical Consumer's ratings including carbon management and reporting, Kensa also made the first ground source heat pump small and quiet enough to be installed in flats.

Shopping guides: Heat Pumps

www.kensaheatpumps.com

Retailers

Bookshops

xigxag

A small independent business providing audio books without subscription, xigxag take on the global domination of Amazon from their Cornwall base.
Shopping guides: Bookshops

xigxag.co.uk

Online retailers

Ethical Shop

New Internationalist's shopping site which helps charities and campaign groups raise money by selling ethical gifts and household goods.

Shopping guides: Ethical Online Retailers

www.ethicalshop.org

Green Stationery Company

One of the UK's first suppliers of recycled paper and green office supplies. Also sells some refreshments like tea, coffee, sugar (some fair trade and organic), and cruelty-free cleaning supplies.

Shopping guides: Ethical Online Retailers

www.greenstat.co.uk/

Veo World

A marketplace for consumers who care about the origins of the products they purchase, and a home for unique independent brands who create high-quality sustainable products.

Shopping guides: Ethical Online Retailers

Features: Q&A: Veo World

www.veo.world

Food & Drink

Bird & Wild 

Fairtrade and organic coffee whose production benefits birds and other wildlife.

Shopping guides: Coffee

birdandwild.co.uk

Chocolat Madagascar

Organic, single origin, traceable Raisetrade chocolate, grown in Madagascar which ensures that much greater share of the value & profit is created in the country of origin.

Shopping guides: Chocolate

www.chocolatmadagascar.com

Essential Trading

Organic and Fairtrade wholesaler who distribute sustainable, ecological and cruelty free products. 

Shopping guides: Cooking Oil, Toilet Paper, Rice, Baked Beans

www.essential-trading.coop

Kilombero rice from Just Trading Scotland

Fair Trade rice produced by the Kaporo Smallholder Farmer Association in Malawi.

Shopping guides: Rice

shop.jts.co.uk/

Lucy Bee

Supplier of ethically-sourced organic and Fairtrade coconut oil.

Shopping guides: Coconut Oil,

www.lucybee.com

Pacari Chocolates 

Made using organic ingredients, Pacari chocolates are also vegan and fair trade. Plus they're made in Ecuador meaning that unlike most other chocolates, more of the profit stays in the country. 

Shopping guides: Chocolate

www.home.pacarichocolates.uk

Suma Wholefoods

UK's largest workers' cooperative and wholesalers of Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian and specialist foods.

Shopping guides: Ground Coffee, Fruit Juice, Household Cleaners, Laundry Detergent, Washing Powder, Rice, Shampoo, Spreads, Soap, Toilet Cleaner, Toilet Paper, Cooking Oil

Organic Italian Pasta

Suma has also been awarded the Best Buy Label for its organic pasta which is produced by an Italian organic food co-op.

The pasta scored 72/100 in our ranking system which means that it scores well across all categories including environmental reporting, palm oil and animal testing.

The pasta gained the award under our expanded Best Buy Label scheme which now includes products that aren't covered in our regular product guides.

You can see how the scoring was applied in the screening report (opens as a pdf).

www.suma.coop

Source Climate Change Coffee

Every bag of Source Climate Change organic coffee has a unique tracking number allowing shoppers to find out how communities and forests benefit from every purchase.

Shopping guides: Coffee

sourceclimatechange.com

Zaytoun

By promoting their fair trade and organically produced food, Zaytoun supports farming communities in Palestine. 

Shopping guides: Olive Oil

www.zaytoun.org

Health & Beauty

Conscious Skincare

A skincare range which makes natural and organic skincare.

Shopping guides: Skincare, Shower Gel, Soap, Shampoo

www.conscious-skincare.com

Flaya

Family run business producing organic and vegan perfumes.

Shopping guides: Perfume & aftershave

flaya.co.uk

Friendly Soap

Handmade soap that's vegan and animal-friendly and because it doesn't use any palm oil it's also good news for orangutans. 

Shopping guides: Soap Bars

www.friendlysoap.co.uk

Georganics

One of the UK's leading ethical toothpaste companies which is top of our ratings table.

Shopping guides: Toothpaste

georganics.com/

Kingfisher Toothpaste

Produces natural toothpaste with no artificial sweeteners, flavourings, colourings or preservatives. 

Shopping guides: Toothpaste

www.kingfishertoothpaste.co.uk

Lucy Bee

One of the most ethical companies that Ethical Consumer rates, all Lucy Bee's coconut oil is organic and Fairtrade. All their health and beauty products are organic, vegan, cruelty free and fair trade.

Shopping guides: Deodorant, Skincare, Soap

www.lucybee.com

Odylique

The first UK brand to launch skin care products certified to both Fairtrade and organic standards, Odylique consistently scores well in our rating system across all categories including environmental reporting, palm oil and animal testing.

Shopping guides: Deodorant, Make Up, Shampoo, Soap, Sunscreens.

odylique.co.uk/

Queenie Organics

One of the first cosmetic companies not to use palm oil in any of its products, Queenie Organics is also 100% organic and vegan.

Shopping guides: Skincare

www.queenieorganics.com

Home & Garden

Bio-D

Bio-D produces eco-friendly household cleaning products. All products are from sustainable, naturally-derived raw materials and are free from synthetic chemicals, preservatives, enzymes and synthetic perfumes. 

Shopping guides: Household Cleaners, Dishwasher Detergent, Washing-up Liquid, Laundry Detergent, Toilet Cleaner

Features: Company Q&A

www.biodegradable.biz

Greenscents

Organic and vegan household cleaning products. 

Shopping guides: Household Cleaners, Laundry Detergent, Washing Powder, Toilet Cleaner

www.greenscents.co.uk

Honest Supplies

All of Honest Supplies toilet paper is made from 100% post consumer recycled material sourced from the UK.

Shopping guides: Toilet paper

honestsupplies.co.uk

Miniml

Miniml provide a wide range of refillable and non-toxic cleaning, laundry and personal care products.

Shopping guides: Dishwasher Detergent, Household Cleaner, Laundry Detergent, Shampoo, Shower Gel, Toilet Cleaner, Washing-up Liquid

minimlrefills.co.uk

Naked Sprout

Made from 100% post consumer waste and 100% FSC certified bamboo pulp, and manufactured using renewable energy, Naked Sprout is our highest ranking toilet paper company.

Shopping guide: Toilet paper

nakedsprout.uk 

SESI

SESI makes sustainable cleaning products that helps shoppers ditch single-use plastic bottles in favour of refills. The company scores Ethical Consumer's best rating for animal testing and carbon management.

Shopping guides: Dishwasher Detergents, Household Cleaners, Laundry Detergents, Shower Gel, Skin Care, Toilet Cleaners, Washing-up Liquid

sesi.org.uk

Money

Big Exchange

Co-founded by The Big Issue, The Big Exchange is one of the UK's leading ethical investment companies and provides a genuinely ethical Stocks & Shares ISA.

Shopping guides: Stocks & Shares ISA

www.bigexchange.com

Ecology Building Society

Building a greener society through sustainable mortgages, ethical savings, affordable housing and mutuals. 

Shopping guides: Ethical Mortgages, Savings Accounts, Cash ISAs

www.ecology.co.uk

Ethex

Ethex is an ethical investment platform providing investment opportunities in a wide range of projects and businesses that have a positive impact on people and the environment.

Shopping guides: Innovative Finance ISAs

www.ethex.org.uk

Naturesave Insurance

A pioneering insurance broker, Naturesave offers ethical insurance for homes, businesses and charities.

Shopping guide: Insurance

naturesave.co.uk

Triodos Bank UK

Triodos Bank is one of the world's leading sustainable banks and one of the most ethical companies that Ethical Consumer ranks and rates in its product guides. Its mission is “to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change.”

Shopping guides: Carbon Divestment, Ethical Investment Funds, Current Accounts, Current Accounts for Small Businesses and Charities, Cash ISAs, Savings Accounts, Innovative Finance ISAs

www.triodos.co.uk

WHEB

Ethical investment fund focused on the opportunities created by the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy.

Shopping guides: Ethical Investment Funds

www.whebgroup.com/

Phone, Broadband and Email

Ecotalk

Ecotalk is a Best Buy for mobile phone networks because it’s owned by renewable electricity company Ecotricity, another one of our Best Buy companies. Ecotalk also gets our best rating for tax avoidance, a practice widespread in this industry.

Shopping guides: Mobile Networks

www.ecotalk.co.uk/

Fairphone

Made from Fairtrade and recycled materials, Fairphone 4 allows you to upgrade parts yourself so you can keep it for longer making it the most ethical mobile phone you can buy.

Fairphone is our only best buy in the mobile phones guide.

Shopping guides: Mobile phones

The Fairphone and contracts are available in the UK from YourCoop.

Green ISP

Not-for-profit Internet Services Provider (IPS) with sustainability at the heart of their business model. 

Shopping guides: Broadband

www.greenisp.net

GreenNet

An ethical Internet Service Provider that has been in business since 1986. 

Shopping guides: Email Providers, Broadband, Mobile Networks

www.gn.apc.org

Runbox

With a strong commitment to privacy, Runbox is a Norwegian-based e-mail provider which runs on 100 per cent renewable energy.

Shopping guides: Email Providers

www.runbox.com

Travel

Independent Hostels UK

One of the largest network of hostels and bunkhouses in England, Scotland and Wales, Independent Hostels UK scored our best rating for carbon management and work with their accommodation providers to cut their emissions too.

Shopping guides: Travel booking companies

independenthostels.co.uk/

 

Research database

Ethical Consumer Research & Consultancy Services

With over 25 years experience of offering flexible and creative solutions to businesses and NGO's, our research team can help your organisation to manage risk, get ahead of the curve on sustainability issues, and work with consumers to have real impact.

Discover how we can help your organisation
Person putting metal straws into shopping basket

Shopping Guides

Find all our shopping guides in one place - from baked beans to wine, via banks and mobile phones!

Our guides provide analysis of the ethical and environmental issues, along with recommended brands, best buys, and our unique Ethiscore.

Ethical shopping guides

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Also of interest

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