Etsy does it

Etsy also completed an environmental audit of its small-scale vendors, vetting them for materials that did not meet the high standards of the Living Building Challenge.

Some 1,800 products have been vetted so far, and for the majority of Etsy vendors, the audit marks the first time they have had to be transparent about their production processes. Etsy brought makers and representatives from the Forest Stewardship Council together to discuss how to make hand-made products using responsibly sourced materials and safe and healthy finishes.

‘The industry needs that dialogue,’ says Devon Leahy, director of sustainability and social innovation at Etsy. ‘A lot of that is really based in craft, in materiality and in qualities that come with these time-honoured traditions of making.’