Our Criteria Alignes With The Planet

The first step to explaining our sustainable criteria is to establish a concept for sustainability.

Most people associate sustainability with only the environment. However, our commitment to sustainability goes beyond. We believe in a holistic approach to sustainability, encompassing environmental practices with social and economic aspects that define a truly sustainable world.

Our commitment to the three pillars of sustainability sets us apart from the rest. We strive to create a shopping experience that is not only in line with the prospect of a cleaner but also a happier world. When looking to incorporate new brands into El Green Mall, we search for those that share our values and priorities.

Sustainable Criteria

Based on this concept, we established five criteria that cover a range of ethical and sustainable practices, from production and sourcing to animal welfare and social responsibility. To be part of El Green Mall, each brand must meet at least 3 of them.

Slow Production

Describe brands that prioritize sustainable production practices.

This term implies that the company is committed to producing goods at a slower pace, with a focus on quality over quantity, and taking into account the impact of their production on workers, the environment, and the community.

Slow Production brands consider the processes and resources needed to produce the goods, with an emphasis on reducing production and consumption.

This is what a slow production brand looks like: Made from high-quality eco materials, products are more timeless than trendy, produces in small batches, locally sourced and produced, often made to order to reduce unnecessary production, may be handmade and/or release fewer collections per year.

Who wants to have the exact same thing as a million other people anyway?

Planet Friendly Materials

Describe brands that prioritize environmentally sustainable materials. This term implies that the company is committed to reducing their environmental impact by using materials that are less harmful to the planet. 

This is what a brand using Planet Friendly Materials looks like: compostable materials, recycled materials, organic materials, renewable materials, upcycled materials and/or ethically sourced materials.

Fair Supply Chain

Describe brands that prioritize ethical and fair labor practices. This term implies that the company is committed to ensuring that their entire supply chain, from raw materials to finished products, is operating in a fair and ethical manner.

A brand with ethical production may have a Fair-Trade certification, work in cooperation with certified productions facilities, work in cooperation with production facilities located and managed under EU regulations or have their own production facilities located and managed under EU regulations.

Vegan & Cruelty-Free

Describe brands that do not use animal products in their manufacturing processes and do not test their products on animals.

Vegan means that the product does not include any animal-derived ingredients, while Cruelty-free means that the product was developed without any tests on animals.

A sustainable brand that is vegan and cruelty-free provides products that ensure animal welfare, without harming the planet.

Giving Back

Describe brands that prioritize social responsibility and community involvement. This term implies that the company is committed to giving back to their community and supporting social or environmental causes through donations, volunteering, or other forms of support.

How do we ensure that our conditions are met?

To be part of El Green Mall each brand must go through a rigorous process.

We based on 3 fundamental pillars that guarantee the honest operation of El Green Mall.

  • Investigation

    When we discover a brand, we carry out extensive research to find out about its history, its founders and its raison d'être.

    We also investigate what products they offer, what values they have and whether they have any certification to demonstrate the sustainability of the project.

  • Sustainability Verification Form

    Once we are in contact with the brand, we exchange what we call a "Sustainability Verification Form".

    Through this form, the brand provides us with the necessary information to verify its compliance with our criteria.

    In this step, the brands commit to work towards the three fundamental pillars of sustainability.

  • Community

    We believe in the power of community and the collective impact we can have.

    We invite you, our valued customers, to be the final auditors. We carefully select the brands that join El Green Mall based on our sustainable parameters, but it's up to you to decide which brands stay. We value your input and believe in democratizing the sustainable market by allowing your voice to shape our offerings.

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Are the brands in El Green Mall certified?

Some are, but it is not a requirement.
We recognize that certifications can be a barrier for small sustainable brands. To achieve a certification, you must follow a series of standards and requirements but also, you need resources, i.e. money for the application.

We asked ourselves how to approach and support those brands that meet the standards but don't have the resources to apply for a given certification.
Following our quest to democratize the sustainable market, we decided to embrace these emerging brands, even if they don't have formal certifications, because we believe sustainability should be inclusive and accessible to all. By doing so, we foster a diverse and dynamic marketplace that encourages innovation and supports the growth of sustainable practices.

Achieving 100% sustainability is an ongoing journey. Perfection is only a pretension. While our brands may not be perfect, our dedication is to offering the best option available and continuously encouraging our partners to strive for even greater sustainability. Transparency is the key, and to ensure accountability, all brands must sign our sustainability verification form, providing a tangible commitment to their sustainable practices.

As we state in our Manifesto: "We conceive the importance of strong verification criteria to select brands and products that match our values.
We conceive verification criteria to be simple, effective, and accessible. Exhaustivity and simplicity are not mutually exclusive. We conceive certifications as a guarantee of valid criteria. At the same time, we do not conceive non-certifications as a guarantee of lack of them."

Our Manifesto