This App Wants to Make It Easier to Shop Your Values

And you can do it while you're looking through Amazon.

Throughout the last decade, there has been a binate shift in the way we shop. At the same time that general consumption of products has grown through the convenience of places like Amazon and Target, so too has the popularity of values-based shopping. But the thing is, those two ideas often conflict and for most of us, the ease of a quick purchase is usually the winner. As someone who writes and talks often about values-based shopping in fashion, it's a question I receive all the time. How do I shop better when price, time, and convenience are all barriers?

That’s what tech company, goodbuy, is seeking to address. Founded by Cara Oppenheimer and Cary Fortin, goodbuy is a browser extension (that works on both desktop and mobile) that helps users shop locally based on value without having to really change their current habits. When you sign up, you can select from a list of values such as “ethical,” “sustainable,” “women-owned,” “AAPI-owned,” “Black-owned,” and more. Then when you go to shop on Amazon or any other site with the extension loaded into your browser, it will highlight which brands have the values you selected, then take you to their website so you can give money directly to them. On the app itself, you can shop based on values from a curated list, such as “colorful shoes,” or “sustainable small business”

The criteria here is important and it is something both founders told me they are actively working to perfect all the time. The ethical label, for example, is based on brands that have obtained third-party standards and certifications such as Certified B Corp, Public Benefit Corporations, Fair Trade Certified businesses, Fairtrade International Certified businesses, cooperatives, and/or employee-owned/governed businesses. On the “sustainable” side, those brands are labeled based on standards such as 1% for the Planet Certified, Certified Carbon Neutral, Certified Climate Neutral, Forest Stewardship Council Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Cradle to Cradle Certified, GOTS Certified, Downpass Certified, Bird Friendly Certified, and/or Green American Certified Businesses.

While certifications are not a coverall for actual ethical practices (see this story about how certified organic brands are not always organic), it is a great way to not only support a small business, but also to add another layer of thought before the purchase. If you are shopping for gold hoops on Amazon for the convenience of the search and the reviews, this tool could potentially help you add another, value-driven, piece to that search.

Putting money toward something you believe in doesn’t need to be (and quite frankly, shouldn’t be) a pass to just consume at high rates. What it can do however, is help you take more ownership of your individual spending power, and that’s certainly a step in the right direction.

You can try the extension by downloading it at goodbuy.com.

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This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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