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Amazon has added new certifications to make it easier for consumers to shop sustainably. As part of its Climate Pledge Friendly program, the certification spans across major health, organic, and animal welfare organizations. The badge appears on 75,000+ products across the U.S. and Europe.
In line with its sustainability goal to become net-zero by 2040, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program aims to help consumers easily discover and shop for sustainable products in its online store.
Launched last September, the program has collaborated with trusted third parties like Fairtrade International and Rainforest Alliance. In addition, it has developed its own certification, dubbed Compact by Design, which draws attention to products that are easier to ship. For instance, cleaning liquids, shampoo bars, and beverages that have ditched glass containers for aluminium ones.
According to Label Insight, 29% of shoppers look for information on products that would highlight any sustainability actions that the company is carrying out leading to an overall more transparent brand.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safer Choice
This label helps customers identify products developed with safe ingredients to protect health along with the health of pets and the environment. These products have been assessed by EPA scientists with each ingredient required to meet the label’s strict criteria, meaning that the items help improve the indoor quality and don’t harm the municipal waterways.
EWG Verified
Supporting companies that use safe ingredients, this label helps identify products with fewer chemicals. The certification was developed after extensive research on the safety of chemicals and strict applications of scientific methods. In addition, scientific evidence regarding the impacts of how toxic chemicals can affect human health was also analyzed.
President of EWG, Ken Cook said: “We are delighted that Amazon has selected the EWG Verified mark to include in its effort to feature more sustainable products as a way to protect our climate. When Amazon shoppers see the Climate Pledge Friendly badge on a product that has earned the EWG Verified mark, they will immediately know that, in addition to meeting our industry-leading benchmarks for health, it is also one of the products identified as more sustainable on Amazon.”
Customers want a way to make more sustainable and informed shopping choices, and Climate Pledge Friendly is ramping up its efforts to help customers know their purchases meet sustainability standards and are helping to preserve the natural world.
Adam Werbach, global lead for Sustainable Shopping at Amazon
Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC)
The ROC is for products across food, textiles, and personal care industries. ROC farms and products are required to fulfil high standards concerning soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.
The label upholds regenerative organic practices on farms across the world. It aims to offer long-term solutions to deal with climate change, help resolve factory farming, and repair broken rural economies.
Read: This Regenerative BioMaterial Replaces Plastic & Captures More Emissions Than It Takes To Make It
Animal Welfare Approved
This food label ensures that animals are raised on pastures or ranges for the entire lifetime of their lives. The farms need to be independent and sustainable without the need for any antibiotic use or added hormones.
In addition, both animal byproducts and the confinement of animals are strictly prohibited.
Global lead for Sustainable Shopping at Amazon, Adam Werbach said: “Customers want a way to make more sustainable and informed shopping choices, and Climate Pledge Friendly is ramping up its efforts to help customers know their purchases meet sustainability standards and are helping to preserve the natural world. We are excited to add EWG Verified, EPA Safer Choice, Regenerative Organic Certification, and Animal Welfare Approved to the Climate Pledge Friendly program’s trusted third-party certifications, which allow customers to discover and shop even more Climate Pledge Friendly brands and products.”
Read: Australia Rejects ‘Certified Humane’ Labelling On Animal-Based Products
Amazon now has over 31 certifications and products with the Climate Pledge Friendly badge. Some of the 75,000 products include Burt’s Bees Baby, Seventh Generation, Mrs Meyer’s, Hewlett-Packard, and Jack Wolfskin.
In a new investigation, Amazon was found to be discarding millions of dollars of unsold inventory from its U.K. warehouse. One former employee stated that the company usually had “a target of destroying 130,000 items a week,” including Apple MacBooks and iPads.
The retail giant’s usage of single-use plastic has also been called into question: 35% of Amazon’s shareholders supported a proposal that called for the retailer to reduce the 465 million pounds of eCommerce plastic packaging accounted for in 2019.
Read: Your Next Grocery Haul Will Have These New Eco-Score Food Labels
Lead image courtesy of Amazon.
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