Beyond Bamboo is a new online marketplace and community, launching in the UK in September 2021 that offers sellers of ethical, sustainable, upcycled and refurbished products a platform to connect with conscious consumers. It is launching its Ethical Ratings System, developed in collaboration with Ethical Consumer Magazine. The system will be used to rate all businesses selling on the Beyond Bamboo Marketplace which has already onboarded a wide range of ethical sellers and is now looking for more companies to join the movement.
All sellers with new products joining the marketplace will be assessed on the Beyond Bamboo Ethical Ratings System across a range of criteria to ensure they are ethical and sustainable. The system has been devised in collaboration with Ethical Consumer Magazine which has over 30 years’ experience vetting companies and products for sustainability.
The ratings system also includes a ‘Working Towards’ category which allows companies that have started down the road to sustainability to be listed and showcase what they have achieved so far.
All products listed on Beyond Bamboo must pass the following criteria:
- Must be vegetarian or vegan
- Must be cruelty-free (no animal safety testing conducted or commissioned on ingredients or products)
- Must not contain any hides, skins or hairs, leather, suede, wool, fur, silk, down, feathers, angora, shearling, or cashmere
- Must be palm oil free (including palm oil derivatives)
- Must be free of GMO ingredients
- Must be non-toxic
- Have a clear, written commitment to minimising their environmental impact
- Standards for workers throughout the business and supply chain must conform to the Ethical Trade Initiative base-code (freedom of association, no discrimination, no child labour, no forced labour, reasonable working hours, and fair pay)
- The business must not be engaged with the arms trade or extractive industries
- Must have a clear, written commitment to making use of recycled/upcycled materials for packing and to minimising packaging overall with a move away from plastic.
If a product fails on one of these categories, it is evaluated for inclusion in the ‘Working Towards’ category.
The Beyond Bamboo marketplace will also feature a wide range of upcycled and refurbished products from accredited sellers with strong customer service records.
Tiffany Kelly, CEO of Beyond Bamboo comments: “There are so many wonderful ethical and sustainable retailers, but unfortunately for every genuine retailer there are others that make unsubstantiated claims and erode consumer trust. Beyond Bamboo, with its bespoke product accreditation, helps those retailers which are really making a difference to stand out from the green-wash. This has been a major selling point for many of the retailers that have joined the platform – they are proud of what they are doing and want buyers to know that they take the future of our planet seriously. In addition, we have made the process of onboarding as effortless as possible so that even smaller companies, with limited time, can easily join. We’re proud to be creating an inclusive community of like-minded people passionate about ethical and sustainable retail.”
Product categories for the Beyond Bamboo retail marketplace include home and kitchen wares; electrical goods, such as refurbished mobile phones and laptops; body and self care; accessories; outdoors and leisure; bedroom and bathroom; clothing; tools; garden; and luggage.
In addition to the consumer retail marketplace, Beyond Bamboo has a business-to-business section which supplies the hotel and hospitality industry. Several sellers on the retail marketplace are already in line for wholesale contracts with a global hotel chain.
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