Tech has a dirty secret - e-waste. Discarded electronics are full of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, which can harm human health and poison the land and waters, if not properly disposed of. Asia is the biggest generator of e-waste. And due to illegal imports, Southeast Asia is turning into an e-waste dumping ground. See CNA Insider video and full article.

Find out more about dealing with e-waste and how the grass roots movement of Repair Cafes is part of the local solution in Australia. There are many benefits. See if there’s one near you on this handy map. 

BCorp, which certifies the sustainability of businesses' production processes, has come under fire for certifying the ultra-fast fashion brand "Princess Polly". Princess Polly is a US-Australian competitor to sites like Shein, raising questions as to whether a company of this nature should ever be eligible for a BCorp certification, regardless of their production line ethics. Read what Good on You has to say.

At Shop Ethical, we seek to bring you the data, so you can make an informed decision. We include sources like BCorp, despite these criticisms, but also include more stringent sources such as the Remake Fashion Accountability Report, which asks questions that specifically penalise fast-fashion producers. We encourage you to look into our company profiles to see the full details of why each brand receives their score.

The Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) project ranks Big Tech companies on governance, freedom of expression and privacy.  Their recent scorecard 2025 Big Tech Edition, covers 14 large tech firms based in the US and abroad and finds them all mediocre at best. Its highest score of 50 out of 100 goes to Microsoft, while Amazon and the Russian firm VK share a low score of 27. See PC mags summary here.

You can explore alternative platforms and approaches for reducing your reliance on big tech companies, including open-source, privacy-focused alternatives for social media, search engines, email, and more.