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The Etho Process

The Search

We find the best ethical brands from around the world.

Pre-Checks

We do pre-checks, questionnaires, or site visits to ensure that sellers meet our ethical standards.

Sellers

Our handpicked sellers list their shops and products on The Etho.

You Shop!

Shop from a variety of products and sellers with a single cart secure checkout.

Deliver Your Selections

Your purposeful orders are shipped directly from our artisans to your doorstep.

Our Ethical Verification Process:

Because we carry a variety of products from sellers of different sizes and origins (the beauty of The Etho), we found it necessary to create our own verification process. You can shop comfortably knowing that we have done all the screening for you.

  1. Pre-Check:We conduct a general pre-check on each seller’s certifications and ethical claims by having discussions with the owners and management and referencing information available online.
  2. Agreement:We share our 7 Core Ethical Principles and verification process with sellers and ask their consent to The Etho’s Terms of Use and Seller Expectations.
  3. Questionnaire:Sellers not possessing any of the official Fair Trade or Organic certifications (having a third party auditing or internal monitoring system reaching all the way to the worker level) are required to fill in The Etho's Ethical Production Questionnaire. It maps the functions and production chain of sellers' products and aspects related to The Etho's Core Ethical Principles.The comprehensive questionnaire is based on auditing questions used in Fair Trade, covering environmental and employer welfare-related issues through 29 questions.
    1. The information from each seller is analyzed individually and any additional information needs or needs for improvements are taken up with the seller. After providing all the needed information and completing the process successfully, the seller's products receive The Etho verified status in our online shop. The questionnaire/production update will be done annually, on top of regular communication with the sellers.
    2. In case a non-certified seller refuses to share the requested information, The Etho abstains from selling these products.
    3. A periodical analysis and summary on the ethical questionnaire responses (keeping the sellers' details anonymous) will be shared with all sellers for mutual learning and sharing.
  4. Impact ReportingThe Etho will report on its activities and impact in an annual impact report, released in the first quarter of the following year.