Terms of Use
Hi there! Welcome to The Etho. We’re really excited that you’re here, and we want you, as a The Etho user, to stay informed on what we do, what we don't do, and what we expect of everyone on The Etho. For your convenience, we have detailed our Terms of Use (“Terms”) below –– we ask that you read through them, understand them (or ask us to help you understand them!), adhere to them, and that you expect the same of us. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have about these Terms and what they mean for you as a member of the The Etho community.
Accepting The Etho's Terms of Use
The following document and the other related documents assembled/linked to below constitute The Etho’s (The Etho Inc.’s, “The Etho”) operational policies and guidelines, and will serve as The Etho’s rules. Collectively, we will call all of these provisions The Etho's Terms of Use (“these Terms” or “the Terms”). These Terms are a legally binding contract between you and The Etho, Inc., which is the legal name of The Etho’s parent company. We will refer to ourselves (including The Etho's website, all of The Etho's associated applications and services/service entities) as “The Etho”. This contract sets out your responsibilities and rights as a The Etho user, whether you are a buyer, seller, or a potential buyer or seller.
By using any of The Etho’s “services” (i.e., all components of our company listed above), as well as simply navigating or perusing The Etho's website, you automatically agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree with any of these Terms, you may not use The Etho's services in any form or fashion.
The Etho’s policies apply to everyone, regardless of whether you’re using The Etho as a buyer, a seller, or otherwise. Use of any of The Etho's services detailed herein constitutes agreement to these Terms, including: The Etho's Anti-Discrimination Policy; User Privacy & Online Communications Policy; Privacy Policy; Intellectual Property Policy; Community Guidelines; Prohibited Things Policy; Sanctions Guidelines; Fees and Payment Policy; Trademarks Policy; Dispute Resolution Process and Returns/Exchanges Policy; Online Communications Policy; and our Seller Expectations. All of these policies are a part of The Etho's Terms, so be sure to read them all carefully.
Your Account with The Etho
In order to use The Etho, and any of The Etho's services, you must create a user account. Our account rules are detailed below and are an important part of your participation in The Etho’s activities whether as buyer or seller –– so we suggest you read them carefully and become familiar with them.
You must be at least 18 years of age, or older, to use The Etho’s services in any capacity. If you are not 18 years of age, and are 13 years old, you may only use The Etho’s services under the active supervision of a parent or legal guardian who is required to manage your The Etho account for you. Children under 13 year of age are not allowed to use The Etho or The Etho's services in any capacity.
By creating a The Etho account, you acknowledge and agree to be solely responsible for any activity on your account. If you share a The Etho account with other individuals, then the person whose billing information is on the account is ultimately responsible for any and all activities on that The Etho account.
You are charged with protecting your The Etho account password. Because you are solely responsible for any and all activity on your account, we suggest that you maintain the security of your account password and other related information, and that you refrain from sharing or communicating such information to others unnecessarily.
You must provide The Etho with accurate information about yourself; and it is therefore strictly prohibited to use false information of any kind, or to impersonate another person or entity, through your account name(s), activities, communications, or the like.
If you choose to register with The Etho as a business entity, by doing so you are guaranteeing that you posses the authority to agree and consent to these Terms on behalf of that business. All The Etho accounts are also non-transferable.
All users of The Etho’s services, even if you decide not to list your full name as the name associated with your The Etho account, are still prohibited from using any language that is offensive, libelous, threatening, inappropriate, or that infringes upon someone else’s intellectual property rights (or otherwise violates these Terms).
These Terms of Use do not constitute the creation of any partnership, joint venture, employment, franchise relationship or agency of any kind between The Etho and you, or between The Etho and your company.
User Privacy on The Etho
Our Privacy Policy details how your information is used when you use The Etho's services, to view the Privacy Policy, please click here.
Indemnification information
If the relationship between The Etho and The Etho's sellers is found to be one of “joint data control” of customers’ personal information, and The Etho is fined or sued because of something that you did qua joint data controller of customers’ personal information, you hereby agree to indemnify The Etho for any expenses we occur in connection with your controlling and processing of customers’ information.
We hope this never happens, but if The Etho is sued in connection to something that you, as a buyer or seller, did, you hereby agree to defend and indemnify us. This means that you will defend us and hold The Etho harmless from any legal claim or demand, including any of The Etho's employees and any and all reasonable attorney’s fees that may arise from your actions, your use or misuse of The Etho's services, your breach of these Terms, or your account’s infringement on another individual’s rights.
The Etho reserves the right to determine and execute The Etho's own legal defense in any manner we see fit, even in light of your consenting to indemnification of The Etho outlined here, in which case you agree to cooperate with us accordingly.
Use of The Etho's services
We hereby grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use The Etho’s services; one that is subject to all of these Terms, in addition to the following restrictions:
The names “The Etho” and "The Etho," and all other The Etho trademarks, phrases, logos, and designs employed by us in connection to our services, are licensed trademarks, service marks, or trade dress of The Etho in the United States, and in other countries. If you’d like to use any of our trademarks, please adhere completely to The Etho's Trademarks Policy.
By using any of The Etho’s services, you acknowledge and agree that you will not violate any laws in connection with the use of those services. This includes, but is not limited to, any local, state, federal, and international laws applicable to you. It is your responsibility to obtain any licenses and/or permits required for lawful operation of your shop, and you must operate in compliance with The Etho’s Sanctions Policy, and are prohibited from engaging in theft, fraud, anti-competitive conduct, threatening conduct, or any other unlawful acts or crimes against The Etho, another The Etho user, or any and all third parties.
By using The Etho’s services you are agreeing to never interfere, or attempt to interfere, with those services by distributing a virus or other harmful computer code, or, in any other way.
By using The Etho’s services you are agreeing not to “crawl,” “scrape,” or “spider” any page of The Etho’s services or to reverse engineer or attempt to obtain the source code of our services.
By using any The Etho service, you acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for paying all fees that you owe to The Etho. You are also solely responsible for collecting and/or paying any applicable taxes or duties for any sales or purchases you make through The Etho’s services.
The Etho will provide you or your representatives with limited legal information in writing. By using The Etho's services, you are agreeing to our Online Communications Policy, which describes how we communicate that specific information to you. It states that The Etho can send you information electronically (e.g., by email or online message) instead of mailing you hard copies, and that The Etho's electronic or digitally displayed agreement in all cases is the same as The Etho's signature on paper.
Content Associated with Your The Etho Account
Any and all content that you post while using The Etho’s services will be considered your content, and not The Etho’s. We neither endorse, nor make any claim of ownership to your content. “Your content” includes anything posted by you or your representatives while using The Etho’s services. This includes, but is not limited to: shop or account names, pictures of any kind, profile photos, item descriptions, customer reviews, comments by you or customers, videos, etc. The following guidelines serve as the rules for meeting The Etho's content standards:
By displaying or posting content through The Etho’s services, you automatically grant The Etho license to use that content. The Etho does not claim any ownership of your account’s content, but does retain your permission to use said content for any purposes deemed by The Etho to help The Etho expand, operate effectively, and/or develop. This license is primarily in place to help size, display, advertise, translate, market, and share your shop, your shop’s products and images/content, and to do so in a way that helps The Etho expand and optimize web presence and increase sales.
This means that by posting any content, you automatically grant The Etho an irrevocable, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to utilize, replicate, keep, modify, redistribute, or to create derivative works, of your content in order to maintain The Etho’s services, and for the purposes of promoting The Etho or your The Etho shop, in any format, and through any method, including throughout any The Etho services or third-party websites or advertisements. We claim this right in order to better market our platform and increase the revenue our sellers bring in through The Etho.
Respect for intellectual property rights is a central priority for The Etho, and we are committed to adhering to and following appropriate legal procedures to remove infringing content from The Etho's services. If you own content, whether written or visual, that has been displayed in any of The Etho’s services without your permission, and you want it removed, please follow the procedures detailed in The Etho's Intellectual Property Policy. We will be happy to accommodate you.
If content associated with your account infringes upon another person’s intellectual property rights, The Etho will remove it upon notification, and will contact you about it.
You hereby acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any and all of your content on The Etho. This means that you claim to posses all necessary rights to any content associated with your The Etho account, and that you are not infringing upon or violating any other party’s rights by displaying or using it.
You hereby agree that you will not post any written or visual content that may be considered abusive, threatening, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive or in violation of The Etho's Prohibited Things Policy, Community Guidelines, or any part of these Terms. You also agree not to post any content that is false, misleading, or that uses any The Etho service in a manner that is fraudulent and/or deceptive.
Limitation of Liability
By using The Etho, you understand and agree that The Etho does not manufacture, store, or inspect any of the items sold through our services. No products sold through The Etho are owned by The Etho; we merely determine whether or not products can be sold in our virtual marketplace (The Etho) based on their adherence to our Fair Trade standards of production. By using The Etho, you acknowledge that The Etho screens sellers to determine whether or not they qualify as “Fair Trade” in line with our own ethical standards, which, while based on widely accepted international principles of Fair Trade (outlined by the World Fair Trade Organization), do not necessarily rely solely upon, or invoke any formal relationship with or approval of, any international Fair Trade labeling organization.
You hereby release The Etho from all liability relating to your interactions with other users of our services. We urge all The Etho users to exercise caution in all interactions with other The Etho users.
You agree that The Etho is not responsible for the copyright compliance, legality, accuracy, or non-offensiveness of any content posted by The Etho users, and accessible to you through our services. You hereby release The Etho from all liability related to that content.
You hereby release The Etho from any legal claims related to items sold through The Etho's services, including for defective items, the misrepresentation of products by sellers, or products that may cause physical injury (product liability claims).
Because the items sold in The Etho's marketplace are listed, made, and sold directly by independent sellers or groups, The Etho cannot and does not make any warranties about their quality or safety. Any legal claim you may have related to an item you purchase on The Etho must be directed against the seller of that product(s), and not against The Etho.
You hereby acknowledge that The Etho does not make any warranties with respect to The Etho's gift card balance and is not responsible for any unauthorized access to, or alteration, theft, or destruction of a gift card or gift card code that results from any action by you or by a third-party. You also agree that The Etho may prohibit the use of our gift card if a The Etho gift card or gift card code has been reported stolen or lost, or if we believe that a gift card balance is being used fraudulently, or in any otherwise unauthorized manner. By participating in any special promotion or offer, you automatically agree to the rules of that special promotion or offer.
The Etho services may display links to separate, product-related third-party websites or other services that The Etho does not control or own in any way (e.g., links to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.). You may utilize a third-party’s service or product in relation to one or more aspects of The Etho's services (e.g., a mobile device with which to use The Etho's mobile app). During any and all instances of accessing third-party services, you hereby agree to do so at your own risk, regardless of these third-parties’ own terms of use. You agree that The Etho is not a party to those agreements, and that they are solely between you and the third-party in all cases.
In no event shall The Etho’s aggregate liability for any damages exceed the larger of one hundred ($100) US Dollars, or the amount you paid The Etho in the past twelve months. (Some jurisdictions may not allow these limitations on incidental or consequential damages, so the stated limitations may not apply to you).
Disputes with The Etho and with Other Users
If you enter into a dispute with another The Etho user, or a third-party, we urge you (or your representatives) and the disputing party to resolve the disagreement(s) amicably. Buyers and sellers who are unable to resolve a dispute related to a transaction carried out on The Etho's websites or mobile app, may participate in The Etho's dispute resolution process. The following section of these Terms contains an arbitration clause and a class action waiver. By agreeing to the Terms, you agree to resolve all disputes through binding individual arbitration, which means that you waive any right to have those disputes decided by a judge or jury, and that you waive your rights to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, or representative actions. It is our intention to assist in the resolution of any issue you may encounter with The Etho's services, or any unforeseeable mistakes on our part relating to your The Etho account. However, if we cannot successfully resolve your specific complaints or issues to your satisfaction, then the following rules will govern any legal dispute involving The Etho's services:
The Etho will attempt to help you or your representatives resolve disputes based solely on our interpretation(s) of The Etho's Terms of Use and other policies, and at The Etho's sole discretion; The Etho will not make judgments regarding legal issues or claims, and is under no obligation to resolve any disputes.
You hereby release The Etho from any claims, demands, and damages which may arise out of disputes with other The Etho users or other parties.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of laws, rules, and the laws of the United States of America. These laws will apply no matter where in the world you live, but if you reside outside of the United States, you may be entitled to the protection of the mandatory consumer protection provisions of your local consumer protection law.
In any legal dispute involving our services, you and The Etho hereby agree that any dispute or claim arising from or relating to these Terms shall be finally settled by final and binding arbitration, using the English language, and administered by the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules then in effect (those rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this section, and as of the date of these Terms you can find them here or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879). Arbitration will be handled by a sole arbitrator in accordance with those rules. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court that has jurisdiction. Any arbitration under the Terms will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted.
You understand that by agreeing to these Terms, you and The Etho are each waiving the right to trial by jury or to participate in a class action or class arbitration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party shall have the right to bring an action in a court of proper jurisdiction for injunctive or other equitable or conservatory relief, pending a final decision by the arbitrator. You may instead assert your claim in “small claims” court, but only if your claim qualifies, your claim remains in such court, and your claim remains on an individual, non-representative, and non-class basis.
Payment for any and all reasonable AAA filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees will be in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules. If the value of your claim does not exceed $10,000, The Etho will pay for the reasonable filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration, unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought was frivolous or brought for an improper purpose.
The Etho is based in Austin, Texas, so any legal action against us related to The Etho’s services must be filed and take place in Austin. This means the seat of any arbitration shall be Austin, Texas. For any actions not subject to arbitration, you (where your contract is with The Etho, Inc.) and The Etho agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of a state court located in Travis County, Texas or the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, or (where The Etho's contract is with The Etho Ireland UC) you and The Etho agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the court of Ireland.
If you are a government entity or designated agent in the United States using The Etho’s services in an official capacity, and are legally unable to agree to the clauses in this section, then those clauses do not apply to you. In that case, the Terms and any actions related to these Terms will be governed by the laws of the United States (without reference to conflict of laws) and, in the absence of federal law and to the extent permitted under federal law, the laws of the State of Texas.
If The Etho makes any changes to this section (“Disputes with The Etho and with Other Users”) after the date on which you last accepted our Terms, those changes will not apply to any claims filed in a legal proceeding against The Etho prior to the date the changes became effective. The Etho will notify you of substantive changes to the “Disputes with The Etho and with Other Users” section at least 30 days prior to the date the change(s) will become effective. If you do not agree to the modified terms, you may send The Etho a written notification (including via email) or close your The Etho account within that 30 day time frame.
By rejecting a modified version of The Etho’s Terms or by permanently closing your The Etho account, you agree to arbitrate any disputes between you and The Etho in accordance with the provisions of this “Disputes with The Etho and with Other Users” section as of the date you last accepted the Terms, including any changes made prior to your rejection of changes. If you reopen your closed The Etho account, or create a new account, you agree to be bound by the current version of these Terms.
Warranties and The Etho
By using The Etho, you understand and agree that our services are provided “as is” and without any kind of warranty, either expressed, or implied, and that The Etho is expressly disclaiming any warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose, as well as any warranties implied by any course of performance, course of dealing, or usage of trade.
We do not guarantee that: (a) our services will be secure or available at any particular time or location (b) any defects or errors will be corrected by The Etho (c) The Etho’s services will be free of viruses or other harmful materials (d) the results of using our services will meet customer or seller expectations.
You acknowledge and agree by using The Etho that you use our services solely at your own risk.
By using The Etho, you acknowledge and agree that neither The Etho, nor The Etho's employees or directors shall be liable to you for any loss of profits or revenues, or for any consequential, incidental, indirect, special, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with our services or these Terms, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
In no event shall The Etho’s aggregate liability for any damages exceed the larger of one hundred ($100) US Dollars, or the amount you paid The Etho in the past twelve months. (Some jurisdictions may not allow these limitations on incidental or consequential damages, so the stated limitations may not apply to you).
Termination
You can terminate your account with The Etho at any time in The Etho's account settings.
As stated previously, The Etho reserves the right to modify, discontinue, or temporarily suspend any of our services at any time, for any reason, and will not be liable to you or anyone for the effect that any changes to our services may have on you or your business.
We reserve the right to terminate or temporarily suspend your The Etho account (including any related accounts) as well as your access to our services for any reason, at any time, and without advance notice from us. The Etho may refuse our services to anyone, at any time, for any reason.
The Terms will remain in effect even after your access to The Etho’s services is terminated, or after your use of our services ends.
Any outstanding bills or fees will need to be paid to The Etho at the time of termination.
The termination of your The Etho account will not necessarily remove the availability of some of your content through The Etho’s services generated prior your account’s termination.
If you or us terminate your The Etho account, you may lose access to any information associated with your account, including any profile-related content.
Scope of The Etho’s Terms of Use
These Terms, including any and all policies that make up The Etho’s Terms of Use, shall supersede any other agreement between you and The Etho in connection with our services.
If any part of our Terms is found to be unenforceable, that specific part shall be limited to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect.
The Etho’s failure to enforce any part of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of our right to later enforce that, or any other part, of our Terms of Use; we reserve the right to assign any of our rights and obligations under these Terms at any time.
Changes to The Etho’s Terms of Use
The Etho may update these Terms periodically, but if we believe that any modifications are material, then we will alert The Etho users by doing one (or more) of the following: (a) posting any changes through the services or (b) sending you an email or personal message about any changes, that way you can decide whether or not you want to continue using our services
Changes to The Etho’s Terms will be effective immediately upon the online posting of the changes, and all The Etho users are responsible for reading and understanding any changes.
Your use of The Etho’s services following any changes or modifications constitutes your acceptance of any updated Terms of Use that The Etho introduces.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about these Terms, please send us an email at:info@theetho.com.
Last updated August, 2019. © 2019 The Etho, Inc.