Use a company-research tool for company conduct and a product tool for the product. That sounds obvious, but it is the mistake behind many confusing ethical-shopping scores. A food's nutrition rating cannot tell you how its maker treats workers. A cruelty-free approval cannot tell you whether a shampoo suits your hair.
Choice publishes this guide and makes the Choice browser extension. We include it for the job it does, alongside other tools that answer different questions. This is a comparison of published features and methods, not a hands-on accuracy contest.
Our picks by task
| Shopping question | Recommended tool | Cost to start |
|---|---|---|
| Company conduct on issues you prioritize | Choice | Free browser extension; no account or subscription |
| Fashion and beauty brand ratings for people, planet and animals | Good On You | Free consumer app and directory |
| Current Leaping Bunny approval | Leaping Bunny | Free directory and app |
| Packaged food ingredients and nutrition | Open Food Facts | Free app and database |
You do not need all four for every purchase. Choose the one that answers the question stopping you from making a decision.
Choice for the company behind the website
Choice checks covered company actions against the preferences you select. On supported websites, you can open a finding, read its source and explore alternatives.
That is useful when your concern is the business receiving your money. An ingredient scanner answers a different question about the bottle itself. Open the evidence to see what happened, which company was involved and when.
Coverage has limits. No warning is not a clean bill of health for every company or event. Treat it as the information currently available through the tool.
The Chrome listing explains that automatic checks start after you allow them. They send the site's basic domain to request an existing company record; your preference answers stay in your browser. That is the permission to understand before enabling the feature.
Good On You for a broader brand rating
Good On You's ratings are based on public evidence about people, planet and animals, assessed under its own method. Choose it when you want a structured overview of a clothing or beauty brand.
Read the explanation beneath the rating and check when it was updated. A brand-wide result does not certify every item or establish that each product has the same materials and supply chain.
Its FAQ describes the evidence sources and certifications it uses. Those details let you decide whether its method matches your own priorities, rather than accepting the number without knowing what it measures.
Leaping Bunny for one precise animal-testing question
Search the exact brand in the directory. A current match establishes approval under that program. A rabbit drawing on a retailer's page does not.
This is a narrower answer than an overall ethical rating, which is exactly why it is useful when animal testing is your concern. Vegan ingredients need a separate check. The certification guide compares the standards without treating every logo as equivalent.
Open Food Facts for the label in your hand
Open Food Facts is a community-built food database and app for looking up ingredients and nutrition information. Use it to inspect the product data itself.
Match the record to the package. A reformulation, different market or changed serving size can explain a mismatch. A missing record is a coverage gap, not a verdict on the food.
For a closer comparison with ingredient scanners, use our Yuka alternatives guide. Company conduct and product-label assessment remain separate jobs.
When two tools disagree, check what they scored
First, establish whether the results concern the same subject. One may assess a product, another the brand, and another the parent company. Then compare the evidence dates and rules.
For example, one source may accept a detailed manufacturer statement while another requires certification. That difference can produce different verdicts without either source referring to a new animal test. An older ownership record can create another apparent conflict.
Do not average unlike scores. Read the fact behind each result and decide which one answers your question.
Try one familiar purchase before changing your habits
Open a product or company you already know. Can you find the exact name? Is the source dated? Can you see why the tool reached its answer? Those checks are more useful than installing several apps and collecting scores you cannot explain.
If the tool has no record, look up the source directly. If two tools cover different parts of the purchase, use each for that part. Keep the check focused on the purchase. A useful app should help you reach a decision without making every supermarket visit a research project.
A practical check for a shampoo purchase
If your priorities are animal testing and ownership, start with the brand's current testing evidence. Use the parent-company table to see whether the replacement belongs to a group you want to avoid. Choice can add the company actions it has covered.
Then compare the actual shampoo: formula, scent, size and price. None of the company checks can establish how it feels on your hair or whether it replaces a treatment.
That is enough for a focused decision. The best shopping app for you is the one that supplies useful evidence at the point you need it, without pretending one score answers every question.
Sources
Choice. Choice — Ethical Shopping. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/choice-ethical-shopping/. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Good On You. How we rate. https://goodonyou.eco/how-we-rate/. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Leaping Bunny. Home. https://www.leapingbunny.org/. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Open Food Facts. Get the Open Food Facts app. https://openfoodfacts.github.io/smoothielanding/. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Choice. Choice — Ethical Shopping & Company Values. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/choice-%E2%80%94-ethical-shopping/kgdoijfopjgnnjlbbmkdlcdkaaefighc. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Good On You. FAQs. https://goodonyou.eco/faqs/. Accessed on October 28, 2026.
Leaping Bunny. List of Brands. https://www.leapingbunny.org/Web/Shopping-Guide/Brands.aspx?hkey=5af55e16-2e08-4ad1-8e6a-48260cce1706. Accessed on October 29, 2026.
