Ethical Scanner

Have you ever bought a product and then discovered that the manufacturer was responsible for damaging the environment or mistreating its workforce?

Ethical scanner is an educational app for environmentalists and consumers concerned about human rights and workers rights - in short - anyone with a conscience who wants to raise awareness of exactly what goes into the products that they buy.

When you scan a product barcode with Ethical Scanner you will not be taken to a website where you can buy that product - instead you may be taken to an online article about ethical concerns related to that product. These articles are linked to by other Ethical Scanner users.

How does Ethical Scanner Work?

Simply scan the barcode on a product and - if a user has submitted an entry for that product you will be taken to that entry. If there is no entry for that product you will be invited to make one. Please do so. Suggestions are reviewed and approved as soon as possible. The latest approved links appear on the homepage of ethicalscanner.com

Your telephone may require additional barcode scanner software. If the App cannot find a barcode reader on your phone please download this App : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxing.client.android&hl=en_GB

How you can help

Ethical Scanner is a pilot project and it will rely upon activists to make it work. Please contribute some links. Be imaginative. You may be concerned about the sourcing of raw materials that go into a product. You might think the manufacturer has behaved irresponsibly. You might simply think that the product is bad for you! It’s easy to make the links - simply scan the product - enter a few details - browse to the online article you want to link to and click LINK.

What information does Ethical Scanner collect?

At a minimum Ethical Scanner will send only the barcode of the item you have scanned to ethicalscanner.com

If you agree to it when you first run the App, Ethical Scanner will also send your location and other details that you choose to type in and send to us, such as your email address.

Please DO AGREE to send your location - Ethical Scanner will work without knowing your location but as barcodes in one country may refer to a different item in another it will give less reliable results. You may see the GPS symbol appear before you scan anything - this does not mean you are being tracked - the location is only sent IF AND AFTER you scan a barcode.

Get in touch

If you want to contact me directly for help using the App or with some technical problem or question please do so at [email protected]