What is Ethical Consumer and what does it offer?

Ethical Consumer is an independent, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative based in Manchester, UK, that has been rating companies and publishing ethical shopping guides since 1989. It is funded by subscribers and describes independent, subscriber-funded research as the way to avoid conflicts of interest. If you want help comparing brands on ethical and environmental criteria before you buy, it is a relevant starting point; if you need free, instant answers on every product category, check what is accessible before relying on it.

What Ethical Consumer provides

The organisation describes its purpose as giving people the tools and information to make effective ethical choices and to use their spending power to help change the world for the better. Its main outputs are:

• Ethical shopping guides — category-by-category guides that rate and compare companies and brands.
• Brand ratings and score tables — for example, its clothing issue includes score tables rating and comparing brands, Best Buy recommendations, and ratings on specific issues such as waste-clothing dumping and an Israel-Palestine rating for all companies in the guides.
• A magazine — the latest issue (Issue 223, Nov/Dec 2026) covers clothes and trainers, with guides to fast fashion brands, sustainable clothing brands and trainers, plus features on sustainable fabrics, secondhand and repair options, and the workers who make clothes and trainers.
• A weekly newsletter — described on the site as a way to stay informed.

Examples of guide content

How it is organised and funded

Ethical Consumer states that it is an independent, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative with open membership, and that it holds Fair Tax Mark and Living Wage Foundation accreditation. Its co-founder, Jane Turner, is quoted saying that when rating companies began in 1989 no one else was doing it, and that independent, subscriber-funded research remains the only way to do it without conflicts of interest.

The site signals a subscription model (it invites readers to "subscribe" and to "join thousands of others"), but the available information does not specify prices, what a subscription includes versus what is free, or whether login is required for particular guides. Treat access terms as something to confirm on the site rather than assume.

How to use it for a shopping decision

1. Identify your category — for example, clothing, trainers or AI services — and open the matching guide.
2. Read the score table to compare brands on the criteria the guide uses, rather than a single overall label.
3. Check issue-specific ratings where they matter to you, such as sustainable materials, vegan or PFA-free trainers, or the Israel-Palestine rating.
4. Use the Best Buy recommendations as a shortlist, then verify the specific product against your own priorities, since a brand-level rating does not describe every item it sells.
5. Expect gaps — coverage is guide-based, so a category without a published guide will not have ratings.

A practical example: if you are choosing running shoes, the trainers guide lets you compare 38 brands, including major sporting names, on sustainable materials and other criteria, and points to recommended buys and ones to avoid — a more structured starting point than reading individual brand marketing claims.

Where it fits and where it does not

Ethical Consumer is most useful when you want comparative, research-based ratings across brands in a covered category, and when you value an organisation that is explicit about its independence and funding. It is less suited to quick, single-product checks outside its published guides, and its recommendations reflect its own criteria — so use them as a shortlist to weigh against your own priorities rather than as a final verdict.