How we rate the plastic footprint of every product
Every product in this directory is scored on one thing: how much plastic it puts into your home and the world. Here is exactly how that score is built, and why you can trust it.
The words “plastic-free” and “sustainable” appear on thousands of product pages. On their own they mean nothing. A brand can print a leaf on its label and still sell you a bottle that sheds microplastics into your water.
We built this rating to cut through that. Every product is judged on the same factors, in the same way, against named scientific and regulatory sources. No brand pays to be listed, ranked higher, or scored more kindly. Here is what we actually look at.
How We Score
Every product earns a score from 1 to 10 for its plastic footprint, the lower the number, the less plastic in the product and its packaging. To make those scores easy to read at a glance, we group them into three bands:
A single serious problem is never averaged away
Because the score only adds and never subtracts, strong marks in one area can never cancel a real hazard in another. The worst materials hit a hard cap, a ceiling the score cannot beat no matter how well the product does elsewhere.
PFAS
A PFAS or fluorinated coating in direct food or heat contact cannot score better than 9, and no better than 8 anywhere else. PFOA is an IARC Group 1 carcinogen, and the FDA has withdrawn all 35 remaining food-contact PFAS authorizations.
PVC and bisphenols
PVC, or BPA, BPS, or BPF, in food, skin, or heat contact cannot score better than 5. Polystyrene in contact, no better than 6.
Direct shedding
A product that sheds plastic straight into what you eat, drink, or put on your skin cannot score better than 6.
Single-use disposable
A single-use or disposable plastic item with no real recycling route cannot score better than 8, because it persists for centuries and is not actually recovered.
A standing review process
No single score is the last word. Every score is checked twice: an automated audit reviews each product for data consistency on every update, and on a regular schedule we review the directory through five expert lenses, checking each claim only against the brand’s own site and the certifying body’s own registry, never blogs or roundups.
Polymer chemistry
What the item is made of and what it leaches. Tells true plastic-free from bioplastics and hidden plastics. This is the lens that flags the nylon bristles on a bamboo toothbrush.
Microplastics toxicology
Shedding and leaching under heat, acid, and abrasion, grounded in peer-reviewed research. It is why pod films and synthetic fibres are never counted as plastic-free.
Materials and packaging
Packaging intensity, recyclability, and where the plastic actually sits in a product. It is how a plastic pump on a refillable aluminium bottle keeps a product from claiming plastic-free.
Certifications and standards
Every certification is checked against the issuing body, and real marks are separated from marketing. If the registry does not confirm a badge, it does not appear.
Consumer protection
Holds the primary-source line and challenges any claim that cannot be confirmed. If we cannot verify it, we do not publish it.
Each product also records the method version and the date it was last reviewed. We re-check the ECHA REACH and EU intentionally-added-microplastics lists on an annual cadence. When a score changes, we note it. We never silently re-score.
And we are not perfect. If you spot something we got wrong, tell us. Getting it right is the entire point of this directory.
Plastics that hide in plain sight
Greenwashing often lives in the materials list. These are the ones we watch for, either because they are plastics disguised by another name, or because they are commonly misunderstood.
PVA / PVOH film
The water-soluble film on many laundry and dishwasher pods. It dissolves in water but is a synthetic polymer that persists in the environment. It does not qualify as plastic-free. Some wastewater plants can partially break it down, but not fully and not consistently.
Bioplastics (PLA, PBAT, PHA)
Plant-derived but still synthetic polymers. Most need industrial composting few people can access. We count them as a plastic, scored better than petroleum plastic but not plastic-free. Of the three, PHA is the most biodegradable, but only under specific conditions, such as warm water with marine microbes, not in a home bin or landfill.
PTFE / Teflon / PFAS
Forever chemicals in non-stick cookware and water-resistant coatings. They do not break down in the environment or the body. We flag these prominently and floor the score.
Bamboo viscose / rayon
The plant is low-impact; the fibre requires heavy chemical processing. The eco-reputation of the plant does not transfer to the fabric.
Melamine resin
A plastic binder in products marketed as “bamboo” or “wheat straw.” The plant fibre is a minor ingredient; the product is mostly melamine.
Nylon and polyester
Synthetic plastic fibres, among the heaviest microplastic shedders. Common in brushes, bristles, cloths, and wipes.
Recycled plastic (rPET)
Better than virgin plastic because it diverts waste, but it still sheds microplastics in use and washing. We say so rather than pretend otherwise.
“BPA-free” plastic
Free of one chemical is not free of plastic. BPA replacements such as BPS raise similar questions. We score the plastic, not the marketing.
One important exception: silicone is not a plastic. It is a silicon-and-oxygen polymer made from sand, not petroleum, and it does not shed microplastics. Items made of food-grade silicone can earn our Verified plastic-free badge.
An absolute scale, built up from zero
Every product is measured against the same fixed standard, not graded on a curve against its competitors. A product does not earn a good score simply by being less wasteful than a rival; it earns it by actually keeping plastic out of your life.
The number is built up from zero across five weighted pillars. Nothing is assumed and nothing is rounded away, the score reflects exactly what the product is made of and what it leaves behind.
What we weigh most heavily: the plastic itself, and the microplastics it sheds. Together these two pillars account for the majority of the score, because they are where a product does the most direct, lasting harm, both to the planet it persists in and to the body it sheds into.
Everything else, how it ends its life, the chemicals it carries, and how openly the maker discloses all of it, refines the number from there.
The five pillars
Each pillar is scored 0 to 10 and combined using the weights shown. The scale runs from 1, fully plastic-free, to 10, heavy single-use plastic. A serious hazard can still cap the score.
Plastic in the product and its packaging: how much, virgin or recycled, single-use or refillable.
Sources: Material disclosure; A Plastic Planet standard; NSF/ANSI.
Microplastic shedding and leaching, into your body, food, water, soil, and air.
Sources: Peer-reviewed shedding research, including NEJM 2024.
End of life: how long it persists and whether it is truly recovered, not just labelled recyclable.
Sources: US EPA waste hierarchy; real-world recovery rates.
Plastic-derived chemicals of concern: PFAS, PVC, bisphenols (BPA, BPS, BPF), phthalates, styrene.
Sources: IARC; US EPA and FDA; EFSA; ECHA REACH.
Transparency and disclosure.
Sources: Lab tests; EWG Verified; MADE SAFE; manufacturer disclosure.
The brands we trust
These are the companies whose products consistently land in our lowest-plastic bands, the ones we reach for first and recommend without hesitation.
Where a brand carries a recognized third-party certification, it appears with a separate verification badge in the directory, an independent check, never a factor that changes the score.
What our ratings are not
No brand pays to be listed, ranked higher, or rated more favorably. Scores are never adjusted for a partnership. When a product page links you to a shop and we earn a commission, that is disclosed and it never changes the score or the wording.
The directory stands apart from the rest of the site. Articles, buying guides, and product roundups elsewhere on Thriving Sustainably may use affiliate links or paid sponsorships, always disclosed at the top of that content. None of it influences a directory score or which products are recommended here.
Our ratings are not permanent. Brands get acquired, lose certifications, and reformulate. We re-evaluate when something meaningful changes and date every review.
