You want to make the right choices so your lifestyle matches your ethics. But how do you know what the right thing is all of the time? How can you make the best purchase when you shop, hire a company, buy clothes or even make more charitable donations and get them to the right groups?
Ethical mobile apps are coming to the rescue. For almost any issue you care about, you can probably find an app that will help inform you, guide you and make it easy for you to not just talk the ethical talk, but walk the ethical walk. We’ve partnered with The Humane Eating Project to highlight theirs and five others that are particularly helpful.
Here are 6 ethical apps that work for Android or IOS devices, or both.
This is a “restaurant app for people who care about animals.” It highlights the cruelty that farm animals experience when produced by giant, industrial factory farms.
Among the problems:
√ Hormones and antibiotics are overused so animals will gain weight quickly
√ Too many animals are raised in a too small space, creating a “mosh pit” that is filthy and inhumane
√ Many animals receive no anesthetic when subjected to such painful procedures as beak trimming, castration and tail docking
√ Factory farm animals are often fed unsavory foods.
The free app helps consumers find 20,000 restaurants in three categories: those serving food that’s humanely raised; those serving vegan, vegetarian or veg-friendly options; and those that have made the “watch list (avoid)” because they serve foods the Project considers to be offensive or illegal, like veal, fois gras and sharkfin.
Diners can also search for a restaurant by name, cuisine, location and price, plus get directions and reviews.
Created by the non-profit America for Animals, the app is just one of several state-of-the-art web and mobile projects the organization has launched to promote animal compassion and stop abuse. Works on both Android and IOS devices.
2) PaperKarma
If you’re tired of junk mail but find that writing “cancel – return to sender” doesn’t work, this free app may be for you. Just take a picture of the mail you don’t want, and tap “unsubscribe.” PaperKarma will instantly submit a request to the company on your behalf. PaperKarma can stop magazines, catalogs, coupon books, credit card offers and other mail. If the company that sent the mail isn’t in PaperKarma’s data base, they say they’ll track it down. Works on both Android and IOS devices.
3) Buycott
Buycott is a bar code scanning app that helps shoppers in 192 countries boycott companies that are behaving unethically. Crowd-sourced campaigns raise awareness about the issues, then enable consumers to scan barcodes when they shop to learn more about a product’s history and decide whether or not to buy the product. You can also use the app to send the product manufacturer a message about your decision not to buy. Current campaigns support fair trade, encourage consumers to avoid palm oil products, advocate a boycott of chocolate produced by child slaves and are working to stop wildlife slaughter in Africa. Works on both Android and IOS devices.
4) True Food
Want to avoid GMOs but can’t do it on you’re own because they’re not labeled? The free True Food app can help. It provides information on common genetically modified ingredients and lets you know what brands to look out for wherever you shop. Browse the 16 categories in the shoppers guide, choosing what’s “green” and avoiding what’s “red.” You can even call or email companies in the “red” to tell them you won’t be buying they’re products until they switch to non GMO ingredients. IOS only.
5) This free app makes it easy to switch from conventional incandescent light bulbs to LEDs and CFLs. It will help you figure out the right bulb to meet your need, then take you to a shopping site where you can make the purchase. Light Bulb Finder also helps you find rebates or incentives in your state to help defray the cost of switching bulbs. Available forAndroid and IOS.
There are so many apps for sharing a ride and sharing your car that I’m linking to a good source on 15 of them. Uber and Lyft are on the list, of course. But so is Sidecar.com, which connects riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle, and Sidecar Deliveries, which delivers both people and packages going along the same route. There’s also Ridescout,which gives someone information about all available route options: bus, rail, bikeshare, car share, taxi, carpool, walking, biking, driving and parking.
Partner Note: We partner with organizations and companies that meet our stringent criteria in order to provide you expertise and information that will help you meet your greener living goals. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!
