The Beagle Button – The Easy Way to Shop Sustainably | AD

This post on The Beagle Button is paid-for content in association with Beagle.

Worried about climate change, and the environment? You are not alone. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), three-quarters of adults in Great Britain are concerned about climate change. Meanwhile, other studies show that concern for the environment and wildlife is also at record high levels.

Most of us are concerned about the environment in some way. However, when it comes to quickly popping online to pick up the essentials that we need, then it is easy to forget these concerns. Whether it’s simply the convenience that big online stores such as Amazon offer, or perhaps the lack of time to research ethical alternatives, it is easy to opt for the most convenient option rather than the more sustainable option.

Thankfully, Beagle has stepped in to offer some gentle encouragement and product suggestions via their free The Beagle Button browser extension to help you on your sustainability journey.

What Is The Beagle Button?

The Beagle Button is a clever browser extension that you can install free of charge on your computer’s web browser – such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge – in just two simple clicks.

You’ll know it’s installed successfully, as a small beagle icon will appear at the top of your browser to let you know it’s there. This is reassuring, as when you are browsing non-shopping sites, then you wouldn’t even know that The Beagle Button was there – it does not interfere with your browsing experience in any way.

Once installed, The Beagle Button then beavers away in the background, doing all the hard work for you by sniffing out sustainable alternatives. This means when you are shopping online for a particular product or service, then if The Beagle Button thinks it has a better alternative, it will pop up and tell you it’s found something sustainable that you might like. You can then click through to view the green product, or dismiss it and carry on with what you were doing – guilt-free.

The best bit? As sustainability means different things to different people, within your account you can pick specific sustainability preferences, that The Beagle Button will prioritise when it offers alternatives to you. These include:

• Organic
• Plastic-Free
• Vegan
• Cruelty-Free
• Long-Lasting
• Ethically Made
• Low-Carbon
• Reusable
• From Minority-Owned Organisations
• From Female-Owned Organisations
• Locally Made
• Palm Oil Free
• Saves You Money
• Gives Back

For that extra sustainable edge, Beagle plants one tree for each new user that installs The Beagle Button. Beagle also plants one tree for each purchase made through The Beagle Button too.

How The Beagle Button Works

The alternatives that are displayed to you are not random. Instead, each product goes through a methodical research process. This ensures that the suggestions displayed are a good match for you. It also makes it as easy as possible for you to cut through greenwashing and shop sustainably.

To achieve this, first, Beagle’s dedicated team scours the internet for mission-driven brands that are committed to producing sustainable products. They then look for products that match their sustainability tags, such as the ones listed above.

Beagle then look at how sustainable these products really are. To do that, they give each product a score against their 5 sustainability pillars. These pillars are: Minimising Emissions, Reducing Waste, Supporting Workers, Protecting Animals, and Avoiding Chemicals. All of their products contribute to one or more of these pillars, with priority given to those products with low carbon emissions. Where relevant they also work with certifying bodies to test the claims that brands make.

As well as being sustainable, Beagle wants to make sure that the products they suggest are great to use. So they also look for reviews from customers who have bought the product and tried it out.

Products that pass these tests are added to their database alongside their sustainability score. When you’re browsing online, The Beagle Button quickly digs into this database to find the products that best match what you are looking at, as well as your sustainability preferences – before popping up at the side with their sustainable suggestions.

Reassuringly, their database isn’t static. Beagle is constantly re-assessing all of the products listed in their database. The team are also always searching for new products to make sure they only suggest the best alternatives they can find.

How Can It Be Free to Users – What’s The Catch?

With The Beagle Button, there’s no catch to using this free service. Rather than charging users to use the browser extension, or selling customer data, instead, Beagle takes a small commission from the sustainable retailer when you buy a suggested product. This allows them to generate income sustainably and ethically, whilst maintaining a free service for users.

This commission payment doesn’t influence the products you are shown. Beagle doesn’t accept payment from retailers who want to be listed or to be prioritised in listings. This is because their research process to find the best, most sustainable products in each category are completely independent. This means you only get results that you can trust.

Give It A Go Today

Want to make sustainable shopping easy? Download the free The Beagle Button extension today, and see how your buying power can be used for good.