Green Product Review Criteria

I’ve talked a little before about how I review green products, but it’s been a while so I thought I’d revisit the topic; especially since I review a lot of green products. Also, it’s good to know about how to review green products on your own because you and your family are going to be the ones using the product. No matter how many reviews you read, people have varying opinions and not everyone’s green criteria is the same.

My green criteria is as follows and is mainly useful to you if you want to read the green product reviews I’ve done.

Criteria I use for all green products:

• Is it safe?
• Is it useful – Do I think this project will add something positive to my own life or another person’s life. Will it make my life easier, happier, or more fun. OR will I gain some long-term knowledge from the product if the product is a book or movie.
• Is the packaging eco-friendly? Is it excessive? Is it recyclable? Is it refillable?
• If there’s a product website is it easy or too hard to manage?
• Price – is it affordable for the average consumer? Is it worth the price?
• Availability – is it super hard to find the product in stores or online?
• Does the product seem well made – i.e. will it hold up?
• Is the product better overall than it’s conventional non-green peers. I.e I LOVE Preserve products but their razor do not work as well (IMO) as eco-baddie Gillette Razors. In this case it would be tough for me to recommend the product on green merits alone.
• Are they plain and simply greenwashing or are they committing any sins of greenwashing.

Company criteria I use for all green products:

• Company background – how ethical is the company as a whole. For example, Clorox Green Works may be safe, but the company as a whole makes terribly polluting and toxic products and to me that does not make Clorox a green company, no matter how many green novelty products they make.
• Does the company test on animals? If they say no do they carry the Leaping Bunny symbol.
• Does the company have other green policies in place. I.e. using renewable energy, having a paperless office, etc.
• Does the company disclose all info about their products AND make it easy for consumers to find that info.

Additional criteria for edibles:

• Does it taste good? To who? Kids, adults, everyone?
• Ingredients – Are they toxic? Will the ingredients harm me or the planet? Are the ingredients organic, local, natural, free from icky stuff I wouldn’t let my son near?  Can I pronounce all the ingredients?
• Are all ingredients listed on the packaging and website?
• Is it nutritionally viable? I.e. I’ll review organic tea, candy, or dried fruit, but if it’d be better to eat a plain old piece of organic fruit or drink whole organic fruit juice I consider that too.
• Is it organic, natural, Fair Trade? If so is it certified?
• Is it a food item you actually need or is it just a treat? Note, products do not get rated lower for simply being just a treat, because we all need treats, but if they’re marketing themselves as a need vs. treat it irks me.

Additional criteria for clothing:

• What’s it made of? Is the material eco-friendly?
• Does it wash well on cold, can you hang it to dry or does it require dry cleaning?
• Do the sizes seem reasonable?
• Is it comfortable?

Additional criteria for green cleaning products:

• Ingredients – Are they toxic? Will the ingredients harm me or the planet?
• Does the product clean better than a homemade green cleaner?
• Is the product biodegradable?
• Does the company post all ingredients on the label and at their website? AND are they easy to find?
• Does the company offer Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on their products and can you find them without much fuss?
• Does the product say stuff like… “Poison” or “Danger.” Federal law mandates that these terms indicate the highest possible level of hazard. “Caution” or “Warning,” both mean a product carries a moderate hazard. “Wear gloves” – “Only use in a well ventilated area” and other likewise terms are big baddies.

Additionally I consider if products are…

• Ammonia free
• Chlorine free
• Plant based
• Certified organic
• Solvent free
• Phosphate free
• Chemical free
• Fragrance free or naturally scented with say essential oils
• Dye and artificial color free

Additional criteria for green beauty and body care products:

• Ingredients – Are they toxic? Will the ingredients harm me or the planet?
• Are the ingredients organic, local, natural, free from icky stuff.
• Are they certified if ingredients are claiming organic?
• Can I pronounce all the ingredients?
• What is their Skin Deep rating?
• Are all ingredients listed on the packaging and website?
• Does it work – does it work better than conventional versions?
• Could I easily make a greener version of the product myself, at home?

Additional criteria for green books:

• Is the book printed on recycled content paper?
• Do they offer an ebook version?
• Is it informed and useful or just bunk?
• Who is the info meant for – green newbies, experienced tree huggers, kids, etc. and does it hit that target audience?

My rating system:

All the green product I review are rated on a five tree system. Five trees being the best and zero trees being the worst. To give you an idea, I consider a three fair, a four good, and a five excellent. Anything under a three needs some serious work. I rate all products with this same criteria shown above and scoring system regardless of if I bought and paid for the product or if I got it free from the company.

Whew right? Keep in mind that I have a TON of criteria for a few reasons. One, why bother reviewing something if I’m going to do a half-ass job; that does no one any good. Two, I use these products, as does my son and I don’t want my own family using questionable products. Three, it gets old seeing products reviewed with lack of criteria. Many green reviews I read seem totally bogus, like the person scored a free product and gave the product a great review based on that. Lame. I’ve seriously read blogs where every single product gets a shining review, and seriously, that’s just in bad form and not very reliable.

Use the list above to compile your own list of criteria. It’ll help you to make smarter green decisions as a green consumer.