A new site called GoodGuide is developing a platform to rate and compare products based on their health, environmental and social performance. A timely idea given people’s increased awareness and interest in their impact on the environment. Although the site is still in beta mode it has some interesting features that may allow it to carve out a niche in sustainability reporting.

• Easy to understand 10-point based rating for the health, environmental and social performance of the product
• Aggregate 10-point product rating based on 600 criteria derived from 71 product facts
• Scientific approach to calculating scores using information from government, not-for-profit and private databases
• Comparison ratings in various product categories
• Ability for users to add their own ratings and reviews with links to reviews by Amazon
• iPhone application for mobile browsing
• Tips on reducing environmental impact
• Intuitive interface which greatly speeds up browsing

The company is also working on a feature to let users setup filters based on their own criteria.
Given the number of competing consumer review sites GoodGuide is facing an uphill battle to attract users. (Only about 30 000 people in the U.S. visit the site monthly) However, the concept has a lot of merit. Most of the other sites pay lip service or completely ignore a product’s impact on society and the environment. Ultimately GoodGuide may be incorporated into one of the bigger sites that already has critical mass. Either way the service provides yet another tool that empowers the emerging green minded consumer.