Finch - Your shopping guide for more sustainable stuff

Finch is your shopping guide for more sustainable stuff. Visit choosefinch.com to access sustainability scores and environmental assessments for hundreds of thousands of products.

Add a comment

Replies

Best
If anyone wants to learn about how our scoring system works, I'm happy to give some info!
@jane_pennoyer1 Happy to hear, how do you crawl and analyze the product ingredients and in which dimensions do you evaluate the scores?
@canberk_ars We use publicly available data on ingredients and certifications to generate product scores that account for impacts to climate, ecosystem, human well-being, raw materials, water, and waste.
@jane_pennoyer1 That is great, do you also validate the available data in some ways? Thanks for the answer.
@canberk_ars We work hard to validate ALL our data. On the product side we gather data from multiple sources, including the manufacturers and retailers, then cross reference the data sets. We never take a brand or manufacturers "word for it" on sustainability. For example, if a brand says they are Leaping Bunny certified, we check that claim directly with Leaping Bunny.
Tiffany Loverd
@jane_pennoyer1 how is fair trade status used in results?
Charlotte Chiang
Congrats on the launch, team! Have been looking for a solution like this for honestly more than 10 years. What are the data inputs for the environmental score? Is this score proprietary or do you use universal labels 'certified organic' etc.? Do brands submit these themselves or do you get the data from a third party?
@charmandro Our Finch scores are based on more than 1,000 data points including peer reviewed environmental science, gov literature (the EU's work is especially robust! Thanks EU!), and 3rd party certifications. It is proprietary but also based on existing, validated standards (like organic!). We always verify brand claims with the direct source. So if a brand says it is a B Corp, we cross reference that directly.
Buse Başar
The branding looks very nice shades and very interesting I wish you success at the launch🚀
@buse_basar thank you!!
Roxanne Boutin
Thank you for creating Finch! It’s great that you give access to an easy-to-understand information resource to help make more informed choices about the environment and sustainability. Congratulations, and keep up the fantastic work 🎉
@roxanne_b Thank you! We are excited to increase access to data on the environmental impacts of the stuff people buy every day!
Matthias Strafinger
Congrats on your Launch! I have a sustainable eCommerce brand in Europe. Are you currently only targeting the US market?
@matthias_strafinger Thanks! Yes, we are currently targeting the US market only, but we will expand to Europe when we have the capacity to do so!
Sarah Tuneberg
@matthias_strafinger @jane_pennoyer1 And we're always interested in new brands-- we have a form on our website. Tell us about what you're building!
Courtney
Great application for all my sustainable shopping inquiries! Is the same scoring system used across all websites (I.e. Amazon, Target) ? And are brands paying attention to your scores?
Lizzie Horvitz
@kurtknee the same scoring system is used across all websites, and right now just Amazon and Target but we'll get to other websites soon! Please stay tuned. Brands are paying attention - it's fun to see them engaging and especially open to change once they see how they compare to similar products.
Thomas Selby
Also what about PFAS in my outdoor gear? I love to ski and have lots of waterproof jackets around the house. Now with a young baby in the home I’m concerned about their exposure. Apart from Patagonia I think most manufacturers still use those chemicals for waterproofing. Thanks for the input!!
Sarah Tuneberg
@thomasselby Ooof. PFAS are so troubling. We don't currently score outdoor gear (though its on the roadmap!). The current advice we've seen and incorporate on PFAS exposure is to limit it where possible, especially for things you eat and drink, eat and drink off of, and come into direct contact with (like carpet). Luckily babies don't tend to eat skis. Maybe try to wear a non-stain treated, non-waterproof jacket when holding the baby? Thanks for the feedback!
Daniyal Anjum
Love the high scoring alternatives idea. How's your database compared to something like Spot? This is just another expansion on it so feel free to discard: what do you think of asking someone about the items they use in their daily lives, and then recommend more sustainable alternatives? Could also factor in price.
Sarah Tuneberg
@daniyalbetween We LOVE the idea of doing a survey/onboarding quiz/similar to determine what folks use and then make simple swap recommendations. It's FOR SURE on the roadmap. Reinforcing to hear that idea from outside the team-- thank you! The Spot database is great at presenting data, but it doesn't "make meaning" of the data. Finch is working to make an integrates score that combines multiple factors and features-- manufacturing location, shipping type, ingredients, brand and product certifications. So rather than having to understand the nuances of apples and oranges to combine them, we do that work. Plus the simple swaps!
Daniyal Anjum
@sarahtuneberg Understood and agreed about Spot. Databases may be similar but Spot is tough to draw any conclusions on
Sam Gross
Congrats on the launch! How many products do you rate?
@sam_gross401 We've scored hundreds of thousands of products across more than 100 categories, and they are all searchable on choosefinch.com !
Sam Gross
@jane_pennoyer1 nice! What’s your favorite feature of the new site?
@sam_gross401 I love the user profile feature and that fact that you can follow friends. It's interesting to see my friends' favorite products and their thoughts on stuff I've been wanting to try.
Tiffany Loverd
@jane_pennoyer1 I love the platform! There are a few suggestions I have thought of off the bat to make it more useful: 1. the ability to sort search results would be helpful, 2. a reporting function that would allow users to flag items for you to run QC on - I noticed a few things that were contradictory in search results as well as some “similar products” suggestions that weren’t similar products. 3. I’d love to be able to click through and learn why something was ranked the way it was. The EWG platform does a good job of this. I’d love to be able to tap into more data behind rankings. 4. A product ranking request or suggestion “box” would be helpful. A brand of diapers I buy wasn’t listed but i’d love to know how they stack up. It would help you see where your weakness are as well from an analytics standpoint.
@tiffany_loverd Thank you so much for these suggestions! This kind of feedback is so helpful and I agree on all fronts.
12
Next
Last