About Us
My Story
Growing up, I was always passionate about the environment. In college and living on my own, I was forced to confront the wastefulness of everyday life. Studying environmental studies, I shared with my peers the overwhelming feeling of helplessness around the environmental crisis, squashing all motivation to act.
I had found that friends, family, and classmates wanted to become more environmentally friendly but simply didn’t know where to start. The inaccessibility of engaging in the environmental crisis inspired me to start The Green Swap!
After finding an overwhelming number of companies, organizations, and individuals working towards decreasing our negative impact on the environment, I created this website with the goal of making it easier and simpler for people to access these resources.
— Elsa
Behind the Website
After months of research and consultation with sustainability professionals to ensure that the top sustainability metrics verify that a company is not merely claiming to be “green” but walking the walk, the Green Swap Sustainability Scorecard was developed. It is constantly updated to guarantee that the best methods for capturing all the ways companies impact the environment are used.
How it works! The Green Swap Sustainability Scorecard evaluates brands across ten areas: how transparently a company reports their environmental and supply chain data, whether their products are designed for reuse or recyclability, how seriously they're reducing carbon emissions, how fairly they treat the workers making their products, their stance on animal welfare and hazardous chemicals, the rigor of their third-party certifications, whether sustainability is core to their business model or just a marketing layer, and whether their claims are specific and backed by evidence. Every score requires public proof; vague terms like "eco-friendly" or "natural" must be substantiated, or they count against the brand. There is a "We Avoid" flag reserved for any brand that fails to publicly disclose how it handles labor rights, environmental impact, or animal welfare, regardless of their total score. See the full methodology
Three Things to Keep in Mind
As you meander through this website, which I hope you do (take your time and explore the hidden gems), I want you to take away a couple of things.
Let curiosity drive your actions.
YOU, yes YOU are extraordinary in your power, so don’t waste it away! Empower yourself by learning. Let constant curiosity criticize your own and others’ behavior, seeking solutions with an open mind. Stay curious!
Become competitive.
Approach sustainability as if it is a game that you are dying to win and can’t bear to lose. Let competitiveness add a level of urgency so your actions become significant.
Aim to become 1–5% more thoughtful each day.
Incremental changes build up, so start small. Swap your toilet paper, begin examining your kitchen, investigate the sustainable organizations and services in your local community, or talk to your friends!
It starts with you and the courage to face uncomfortable truths in the impact of our actions.
What we stand on
Transparency
Honest information about real environmental impact, with sources you can check.
Accessibility
Making the sustainable choice achievable for everyone, not just the devoted.
Community
Building connections among conscious consumers who push each other forward.
Ready to look under the hood?
Every claim above is backed by the scorecard. Pick a brand you already buy from and see how it really measures up.