Ingredient + Material Assessments
Now you can see behind what you buy.
The end of label deception starts with HEALabel.
HEALTH (Ingredients)
RED “X” = Research links ingredient to illness from biological factors like fat or cholesterol or environmental factors like mercury, hormone and antibiotic ingestion.
YELLOW “!” = Ok to consume in moderation or not enough information is currently available.
GREEN “✓” = Evidence supports ingredient has health benefits and few, if any, health risks. Buy organic and/or Non GMO to avoid toxic pesticide/chemical ingestion.
HOME (Materials)
RED “X” = Not ideal. Materials may be expensive, require a high level of care and maintenance, aren’t versatile and do not last long.
YELLOW “!” = Material has as an equal mix of advantages and disadvantages or not enough information is currently available.
GREEN “✓” = Works well for most. Materials may be affordable, easy to care for, durable, versatile and long lasting.
ENVIRONMENT (Ingredients + Materials)
RED “X” = Unsustainable. Has a high carbon footprint, high water footprint or in other ways be destructive to air, water, soil, land, forests, etc.
YELLOW “!” = Has a neutral/moderate footprint or not enough information is currently available.
GREEN “✓” = Sustainable. While there is always some environmental consequence to human demand, overall footprint is relatively low.
ANIMALS (Ingredients + Materials)
RED “X” = Animals are required to be killed or exploited.
YELLOW “!” = Animals aren’t killed directly but wildlife and ecosystems are indirectly impacted or sometimes animal derived and sometimes non animal derived.
GREEN “✓” = No animals are killed or used unnaturally in any way.
LABORERS (Ingredients + Materials)
RED “X” = Common reports of labor issues such as dangerous working conditions, exploitation, low wages, modern day slavery or child labor.
YELLOW “!” = No known reports of labor issues but worker treatment will depend on each individual brand.
GREEN “✓” = Only used for specific brands that have ensured labor welfare.
Who Is Behind HEALabel?
That would be me! Adriane Marie. While I do not claim to be a researcher, I do thoroughly study the work of researchers to ensure I properly relay scientifically backed information gathered from books, published journals and validated online articles. I am an educator; studying, organizing and communicating information to help empower others.
I do HEALabel web and app design, graphics, written content, voiceovers, videography, as well as audio and visual editing is . Open source photographs are from websites like Pixabay and Unsplash. I use Amazon Affiliate, Google Adsense Brand Ambassador resources to legally display brand and product imagery. I use PicMonkey for graphic design. Occasionally, I use YouTube open source music for background audio and always ensure artist credit if required. WordPress is HEALabel’s website provider and Glide is HEALabel’s app provider. HEALabel.com is registered with Google Domains.
Health + Environment + Animals + Laborers
HEALabel thanks the free media coverage it has received from some great teams that include: Switch4Good, The Drew Barrymore Show at CBS, Green Queen, The Vegan Review, Vegetarian Zen, Eluxe Magazine, Nourish Magazine, That Vegan Couple, Trendwatching, Techwiser and Lider.
Why feature brand info instead of product info?
Efficiency! Your time is invaluable. To speed up the process of info discovery, HEALabel uses a brand approach rather than a system that would require scanning each and every product. While you may need to inspect individual products depending on your specific needs, for most conscious consumers an overall brand summary does the trick! For ethical shoppers it’s also important to know the kind of overall company values you’re supporting -not just what appears on labels of individual items.
Why does HEALabel feature products from Amazon, a company that has had negative associations?
As for my association with Amazon, I always prefer supporting small businesses and farmers who sell vegan, sustainable, healthy, fair trade products on Amazon. They certainly would not prosper as well or may not even be possible without the exposure they receive via the world’s largest online marketplace. Consider that many of those small businesses also would not have survived the economic impact of COVID-19 without the ability to sell Direct-To-Consumer via Amazon.
Health + Environment + Animals + Laborers
Inversely, many consumers would not have accessibility to such positive-impact brands and products without Amazon due to one’s location. I promote shopping locally whenever possible but I myself come from a region where even today vegan, fair trade, sustainable tools and products are a struggle to find. This lack of convenience is highly discouraging for consumers to change, much less improve their shopping habits. Amazon offers books, cooking tools, brand discovery and products to those with limited resources. People in such locations now have accessibility as ethical consumers in a way that wouldn’t be possible were it not for the services Amazon now provides.
For any additional questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
HEALabel thanks the following
parties for their ongoing research:
Agricultural marketing resource center · Celiac Disease Foundation · Cleanmetrics · Cruelty free kitty · Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK · ethical consumer · Fair Trade Certified · FARE (Food allergy research and education) · FDA: Food Resources For Consumers · Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao) · Gluten Intolerance Group · GRACE COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATION · Healthline Nutrition · Human Rights Watch · humane society of the united states · Hydrology and Earth System Sciences · International labour organization
Health + Environment + Animals + Laborers
Leaping Bunny · Mayo Clinic: Gluten-free diet · National institutes of health · nutritionfacts org inc · Orthodox Union · PETA · Sentient media · SFGATE · soil association · SWTICH4GOOD · Textile School: Textile Fabric Types · The Environmental Working Group’s Meat Eater’s Guide · ‘The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products’ by M. M. Mekonnen and A. Y. Hoekstra · The Hidden Water Resource Use Behind Meat and Dairy’ by Arjen Y. Hoekstra · Tridge · United Nations: sustainable development · University of Oxford: Oxford Martin School · US Department of agriculture (USDA) · World Health Organization · World Wildlife