FAQ for Shoppers
Q: How can I get the latest Ecobunga! listings?
A: Ecobunga! is now listing promotions exclusively on our Facebook Fan Page. If you're on Facebook, "Like" our page to get our lastest listings delivered to your feed automatically.
If you're not on Facebook, no worries! You can still visit our Facebook Fan Page - you don't have to login to Facebook to see it (it's viewable to the general public.) We encourage you to bookmark the page in your browser, and then you can visit it periodically to catch the latest giveaways and deals. Q: What qualifies as a “Green” product or service?
A: We know that “Green” can mean a lot of different things to different people these days. And that leads to some understandable confusion over what’s a “Green” product or service.
So we consulted trusted resources, such as Green America, Natural Resources Defense Council and Consumer Reports’ Greener Choices, to come up with a good working definition of “green”.
We use that definition to screen each listing, asking:
- Are the products or services friendly to the planet? Do they help save energy on the road and at home; conserve water; support organic and sustainable farming? Are they nontoxic, recycled, cruelty-free and/or fair-trade?
- Are the products certified or does the company have a membership association? Examples: Green America Approved; Fair Trade Federation Membership; Fair Trade Certified; Green Seal; Leaping Bunny; Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Signatory; Marine Stewardship Council; Organic Certification; Rainforest Alliance Certified; Food Alliance Label; Certified Humane Raised and Handled; Forest Stewardship Council.
- Is that certification or membership evident on the company’s website and/or products?
- If the company doesn’t have certification/membership affiliations, is there some way for consumers to evaluate their green claim? For example, products that claim to be natural should include a complete ingredient list.
Q: How do you apply your screening process to different types of products?
A: Indeed, not all items can be evaluated using the same criteria, so our screening process takes into consideration the particular type of product.
Here are examples from three of the product categories listed on Ecobunga! that detail how we put our screening process to work:
- Food & Drink: We look for organic certification, relying on Consumer Reports Eco-Labels Center to help us decipher and weigh the credibility of the certification. When a company has a promotion on both organic and non-organic items, we point that out in the listing. With certain foods, like seafood, which do not have organic standards yet, we look for adherence to sustainable fishing practices, as evidenced by Marine Stewardship Council certification.
- Health & Beauty: Personal products that claim to be organic may actually have just one organic ingredient while also containing a host of synthetic ingredients. Thus, we are careful to point out when a personal care product “contains some organic ingredients” rather than declaring it an “organic body care” product. Because it is challenging for health care products to be made from all certified organic ingredients (some ingredients simply aren’t available as certified organic) we also list products with non-toxic, natural ingredients as long as the ingredient list is available for review. And when we have questions, we will consult Skin Deep, the Cosmetic Safety Database by Environmental Working Group, and Good Guide, an independent rater of personal care products. We also look whether companies participate in programs like Leaping Bunny (for non-animal testing compliance) and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
- Clothing & Accessories: We look for products made of sustainable fibers – most commonly hemp, bamboo and organic cotton. With organic cotton, we do our best to determine the certifying organization (like SKAL). Whenever possible, we make the same distinction with clothing as we do with bodycare in terms of organic cotton composition (i.e., 100% organic cotton versus “made with organic cotton”.)
We use the same vetting approach with the other product categories featured on Ecobunga!: Babies & Kids, Home & Garden; Literature & Media; Stationery & Paper; Transportation and Travel -- applying both general and category-specific rules-of-thumb to screen for green. All in all, it is not a perfect science, but we do our very best.
Since we can make no guarantee about the “greenness” of any promotion, it is up to you, dear shopper, to make the final evaluation. We encourage you to check out the resources above to learn about what is and isn’t considered green these days, and how you can evaluate those claims. Which leads us to ...
Q: What is Greenwashing?
A: Greenwashing is when companies overhype the positive environmental impact of their products or policies. Tsk-tsk. This is what we assiduously try to steer clear of on Ecobunga! There are many good resources out there on how to spot greenwashing. Take some time to learn more - you'll be glad you did.
Q: What does Fair Trade mean and how is it connected to the environment?
A: In brief, fair trade means paying the producer of a good a fair price as well ensuring that social and environmental standards are met during production of that good. According to non-profit TransFair USA -- the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S. and a member of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International -- fair trade principles include: fair price; fair labor conditions; direct trade; democratic and transparent organizations; community development; and environmental sustainability. For more information, please visit TransFair.
We feature listings from companies that have Fair Trade certification from TransFair because environmental concerns are included in their certifying standards:
Fair Trade Certified ensures that farmers obey internationally-monitored environmental standards, while empowering farmers and farm workers with financial incentives and resources for organic conversion, reforestation, water conservation and environmental education.
At this time TransFair certifies agricultural products only. Many clothing and accessories companies also claim that their products are fair trade, but currently there is no independent third party certification process for fair trade apparel. In lieu of this certification, we look for a company's membership in the Fair Trade Federation, a trade association for North American organizations committed to fair trade, and also research the company's fair trade claim whenever possible. In short, we tend to err on the side of caution and only list companies with third party substantiation of fair trade claims.
Q: Why do you include promotions for vegetarian and vegan products?
A: You may have heard that eating less red meat is good for your heart, but did you know it’s also good for the earth? According to a report by U.N. climate experts, animal production is responsible for 18 per cent of all greenhouse emissions, most of it emitted in the form of methane from belching cattle. Yes, that’s right – gassy cows. The reports also points out how the livestock industry brings about land and water degradation. So shifting your diet to one with less meat (or no meat at all) means fewer burping Bessies and less harm to the environment.
Q: What kind of giveaways and deals do you list?
A: All sorts! We list sweepstakes, contests, coupons, rebates, sales, free shipping, bulk discounts, and lots of odds and ends. Some are big deals, some are little. But all help chip away at the cost of going green.
We look over every promotion to try to make sure it’s legit, but make no guarantee. For sweepstakes and contests, we look for “official rules”. For shopping sites, we look for clear policies and secure servers when placing an order. Please be sure to look for these things, too. And if you have any feedback on a listing, contact us.
Last but not least, we currently only list companies selling to or servicing the U.S. market.
Q: What does “Ecobunga” mean?
A: Absolutely nothing. It’s a take-off on “Cowabunga”, a slang word used in the 1960s by surfers to express joy when riding the waves. Apparently they expropriated the word from Chief Thunderthud, a character in The Howdy Doody Show. “Cowabunga” was later recycled by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the 80’s, making it, we are happy to report, a green word. Plus the domain was available unlike everything else we looked at including (no joke) ecoferret.com.
When we find a great green deal we throw our hands in the air yell “Ecobunga”. We encourage you to do so, too. It’s very silly, but very good retail therapy.
More Questions?
Contact Us.
FAQ for Companies
Q: Can I get my promotion featured on Ecobunga!
A:Ecobunga! hand-selects the promotions it features on its Facebook Fan Page and, regretfully, is no longer accepting submissions from companies or bloggers.
|
