 EVO is an online comparison shopping engine that EnviroCitizen.org discovered goes beyond the typical parameters of comparing prices and brands. Instead, EVO sets out to help consumers determine how green their purchases really are. EVO is an essential tool for any environmentalist or eco-friendly consumer because it sifts through the green washing and finds the products that really are green. It helps consumers move beyond terms like all-natural, eco-friendly and earth-friendly, since these terms are not regulated by a third-party organization. EVO actually stands for the EVOlution of commerce according to their site.
EVO developed a scientific technology to review products to determine their environmental and sustainable aspects. Their technology, called the Green Screen, gives products green leaves to help consumers determine how green a product really is. One leaf means that there is one characteristic of the product that makes it green. Five leaves signify that a product is one of the best choices for a consumer and for the environment. One example is skin lotion. If a particular lotion uses some certified organic ingredients, it will likely receive one leaf. If another lotion was made from all certified organic ingredients, was not tested on animals, has no petroleum-based products, is paraben-free and was made by a company that integrates green business practices, it will receive five leaves.
EVO is a wonderful resource because they have screened more than two million products. Of the two million products that EVO has looked at, only 1%, or about 20,000 products, make it through their Green Screen process. They identify the positive and negative aspects of every product and they also weed through false-positives, like claims of a product being bamboo-like, which often come in the form of green washing. EVO is simple for users; positive aspects of each product are listed in green and negative aspects are listed in red. If you want to learn more about a particular aspect, you can get a more comprehensive definition of that aspect. That way, you can learn why organic wool is better for the environment and your health or why artificial flavoring is worse for the environment and your health.
EnviroCitizen.org considers EVO to be an essential tool for you, the environmentally conscious consumer. It will help you wade through the green washing to find truly eco-friendly products. It's an unbiased, scientifically-based system so you can be assured that when you find a green product through EVO, it really will be green.
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