My husband and I recently picked up a copy of the Better World Shopper.  Within one reading of the guide, we knew our lives would not be the same.  Elis Jones researched and developed the guide because:

Money is power. And wherever large amounts of money collect, so also new centers of power form. The latest historical manifestation of this is the modern corporation. Make no mistake, these new power centers are not democracies. We don’t vote for the CEO’s or their policies (unless we are: rich enough to be significant shareholders, informed enough to know what’s going on, and compassionate enough to care about more than just personal profit), yet our destinies are increasingly in their hands.

The book includes a long list of categories, including banking, gas, dairy, markets, etc.  Each company is graded on the following:  the environment, human rights, community involvement, animal protection, corporate crime, discrimination, employee treatment, and philanthropy.  They are then assigned a grade.  For example, YourBankHere receives anything from an A+ to an F.  Some of our favorite companies received horrible grades.  However a big shoutout goes out to our girl Nicole Miller.  Her company gets a B-.  Not too shabby!

The guide could certainly be expanded.  For example, Costco gets a D, but it doesn’t tell you what criteria gave them that grade.  They have an excellent reputation because of their support of organic goods and the treatment of employees.  I’d like to know what exactly gave them that D.

The complete guide can be purchased for $10, or you can surf the website for a lot of details without paying.  They offer a surprising amount of information.

A.