There is a new Apple iPhone and Google Android application available in Germany right now. And even if we could download the app, using it would be pointless as it uses a database that is strictly for Germany. However, what the app does and how much the world can benefit from it is a completely different story.
The app is called Barcoo. This barcode scanning application is a simply tool with an extensive database that it calls up whenever a user scans a product. The information shown ranges from the predictable, to the surprisingly ethical: product information and details about the manufacturer.
While the app does help out determining nutritional values, the information can be found on the product labels and all one needs to do is read. At least the app remembers to use traffic light warnings though according to the app developer, that practice should be the responsibility of the manufacturer and the app is only a supplement not an alternative.
The details on the manufacturer however, are impressive. Ratings on how environmentally sound and how well a company is able to treat its employees are two of the details the users of the app would find.
It is an interesting model, and it seriously brings the concept of ethical shopping into play. Just as society has looked down upon the practice of live animal testing or the use of children for labour, such business practices in this day and age should also be considered wrong and should not be supported.
Not that the app will actually tell you not to buy a certain product, after all, the decision to purchase a product is still up to you. In fact, it would be more helpful to everyone if consumers would start getting in touch with their favorite manufacturers to ask for changes in the production methods.
Find out more about the German Barcoo phone app at Spiegel Online.
