By JULIE SCELFO
Many Web sites provide information on choosing products that are “green” or “nontoxic” or “cruelty free,” but GoodGuide.com is one of the first that rates products on potential environmental, health and social effects. The site, which is still in beta test mode but has already had more than a million visitors, is the brainchild of Dara O’Rourke, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies global supply chains and who started the project with grants from nonprofit foundations.
Why did you start GoodGuide.com?
I have a daughter who is 6, and a few years ago I was putting sunscreen on her face and stopped myself. I just didn’t know what was in there. So I brought it to campus for testing and turns out there was a suspected endocrine disrupter and a photocarcinogen — a chemical that, when exposed to sunlight, has a carcinogenic potential to it. That set me on the path of researching basically every single product in our household. From her products to our products to food products to electronics, I found chemicals that had been banned in Europe, or are being phased out in Japan, Australia, Canada. Meanwhile, every time I gave a lecture about global supply chains, people would come up and say, “Look, can you just tell me what to buy?” It made me realize I need to translate all this academic and scientific research to make it useful to the public.
So how does the site work?
This is going to sound geeky, but we developed something called “product ontology,” which is basically a process to determine what matters scientifically in evaluating a product. You see products that say they are ozone-friendly or don’t contain CFCs, but the real impact is somewhere else in the life chain, like in the manufacturing step or end-of-life disposal. So we have a team of scientists who figure out what matters most in a product category. Then, we flow data about the product into a system that uses an algorithm to weight all the variables and turn the data into a rating.
Is the site useful to someone who cares about global warming but not about, say, animal welfare?
We’re not trying to tell you how to live your life or what social issue we think you should live by. We want you to make choices that better match your values or your concerns, so you can personalize the information using several filters.
What types of products do you rate?
So far we have personal care products, household chemicals, food products and toys. We asked our users what do you want next. They said pet food. We’re adding products gradually and also plan to do electronics, household furnishings, paper products and apparel.
MATRICA is an NGO (registered under Societies Registration act, 1860), conceptualized and led by young, energetic, enthusiastic, educated professionals from fields like Information Technology, Media, Broadcast Engineering and Management etc. All of them have a dream to eradicate problems from society, for a better tomorrow - for human beings as well as all other living creatures – problems regarding global warming, female child foeticide, women empowering and child rehabilitation.
Many organizations have been working on these subjects but not a single one has seriously touched the most essential thing of all - the public awareness.
Our major 3 Objectives are:
Enrich Environment: Global Warming is one of the largest problems today. Given the fact that all of us are now tech-savvy, one of the prime-factor of this bad experience is e-waste.
In metropolitan cities, approximately 89% population of 8 to 48 years age group have been using computer, if not directly, then while using many services provided to them as a part of daily life. It, not only increases electricity-consumption but evolves heat also, thus directly affecting our environment.
On the other hand, old computers and computer parts, which are un-recyclable, these doomed box of electronic, hazardous waste – the e-waste, require garbage management to be not just an essential step, but a specialized one too – especially for their reuse and recycling. Lack of education on this front is one of the major contributing factors for environmental pollution.
WE THINK
The problem global warming can be solved through proper awareness among peoples either through technologies or through activities. This is the responsibility of every one on the Earth to protect Environment.
Women Empowerment: Now, Women status have been empowered but the another face of the society has given this a very bad experience - home violence, poor education standard, dependency on males are some of those factors which have been reducing the point of GDP graph of India.
To bring a truly global revolution to our society, it is essential to eradicate these problems from our society.
Our government has been providing money as well as resources from time to time but with zero results – very often the paperwork and red tape has proved to be a big hassle to implement all these efforts sincerely.
WE THINK
Through, public awareness and right resources we can motivate our people to think better – not only for higher living standards, but for respective status of women too.
Child Charm
Chacha Nehru said, “Child is the father of Nation.” This is a right way to motivate, but who is ready to follow responsibilities to implement it in a truthful manner?
Can we really do it, or can’t we? Why? Is this a big task to do and cannot be implemented?
Sure, it can be and has to be implemented, and yes, we can do it.
Lack of right education , or even education , unawareness about health, environmental, political, governmental policies, rules , regulations are few among the factors of our society crippling this dream.
WE THINK
One way to achieve this dream is to launch a proper awareness programs – through cultural activities, rehabilitation of street children, education etc.