In this book Goleman introduces a concept he calls Radical Transparency. Essentially, this concept would see our corporations give us complete visibility into the products that we buy. This transparency would cover not only the specific components or ingredients in a product, but also the environmental and social impacts of those components as they progress all the way from the extraction process to the final manufacturing stage. By having this radical transparency, we will be able to make more informed decisions about the products we buy. If we lean heavily towards a specific environmental issue, we might chosen a product that has a lower impact in that area. Alternatively, or addition, we may want to shy away from a company that has known child labour in their supply chain.

With access to this information, consumers will be able to speak to the issues that are important to them using their wallets. Companies that have better products from all angles will ultimately get a greater share of the revenue. As the money shifts towards the better companies, more and more average or poor companies will be forced to improve their products or their environmental and social impact. In time, this will lead to better products overall. There may be companies that chose not to improve or that simply cannot compete. As far as I see it, hopefully, these companies will slowly disappear. There is no reason that we should accept products that are unhealthy for us or the environment or that take advantage of the people in the factories or communities where the products are made. Radical transparency will work to improve the world for everyone.

Radical transparency is already happening and having an effect worldwide. Companies that once thought only of the bottom line as a fiscal concept are now thinking of environmental and social bottom lines as well. Several organizations have been created to create databases that provide ratings of individual products or companies and many allow the user to customize the ratings for the issues that are important to them. Combine this information with technology like the iPhone, Twitter or Facebook and consumers can disperse the information faster and farther than ever before, creating a much faster feedback loop for the companies that produce the products.

There is so much “green washing” our there today (companies marketing one good feature while ignoring the many negatives of a product) that it is about time that the information gap was closed and the consumer was given what their truly deserve – a real choice.

Check out these sites:

GoodGuide.com
Find safe, healthy and green products.

Earthster.org
Online collaboration where companies share LCA (life cycle assessment) data so that it is possible to gain greater visibility down the supply chain.

EnvironmentalHealthNews.org
Advancing the public’s understanding of environmental health issues.

CosmeticsDatabase.com
Cosmetic safety database.