Rating products, companies and brands is driven by a wide range of campaigning organisations on the one hand and a relatively new breed of investment advisers and corporate responsibility consultants on the other.

There are very many bodies and rating schemes, and some of the in-house ones demand questions about what exactly is behind the label - clever marketing or a full-blown certification scheme?

For summary details on some of the main green and ethical certification schemes which inform our own ratings, i.e. used in setting of our greentags, are set out here.

The published sources, opinions and certifiers we employ include, but are not restricted to:

Defra's approved Organic UK Certification bodies, which includes The Soil Association
Ethical Consumer Research Association
Energy Saving Trust
EU Energy Label
Friends of the Earth
Forest Stewardship Council
Greenpeace
Marine Stewardship Council
Ethical Trading Initiative

To help us track down relevant information, we developed a new research tool called http://www.greenspy.co.uk which restricts search results to relevant and reputable sources, including campaigning bodies, research organisations, and responsible media throughout the world (English only for now).

What else counts? The following helps to improve the rating (at a product level)

Energy Saving
The product will cut down your energy use. We look out for Energy Saving Recommended, AAA A+ or A++, Energy Saving Trust and other recommendations. Cost savings are likely to flow, though today you can expect many energy saving products to be very competitively priced.

Water saving
Cuts down your water use. So a water butt for harvesting rainwater qualifies.

Biodegradable
Should degrade gracefully and quickly into non toxic or persistent materials.

Recycled or recyclable
The materials are manufactured from recycled materials, can be recycled at the end of its useful life. The data for this are usually often tricky to track down.

Reusable
Its useful life can be extended by refilling, or some other purpose.

Sustainably sourced
Comes from a sustainable source, such as a forest certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Low Carbon Footprint
The product does not involve producing a disproportionate amount of CO2 gas, either in its manufacture or its use.

Organic
Produced without the need for nasty persistent chemicals, pesticides.

Fairtrade
Producers are recompensed with a fair price!

At a retailer or brand level, we would be looking at reports on labour issues, supply chain policies, ethical financing, involvement in oppressive regimes etc.

Higher rtaings are obtained by organisations that are signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative, have explicit CSR policies (Corporate Social Responsibility), pass independent and publicly verifiable standards.