Ethical online retailer joins e-commerce fray

Monday, October 4, 2010 - 14:42 by Simon Crisp

A new website offering users the chance to shop for products which have a guaranteed to be of ethically-sound origin is being launched, joining a growing number of e-commerce firms who want to make sure that users can enjoy safe shopping online with a clear conscience.

The Roozt.com website went live in the US this week and it operates on a similar template to the various daily-deals sites, which provide consumers with a single product to check out each day at the best price available. The obvious twist with Roozt is that it will deal only in goods that are responsibly sourced, manufactured and delivered to the user.

If you are worried that you will only be able to buy organic veg or ponchos made from hemp via Roozt, the creators have already said that everything from electronics to fashion accessories will be featured on the site. The partner companies will have to prove that they are dedicated to ethical online retail throughout the process, so users will have a chance of altering the world for the better while they shop.

Any purchase made through Roozt will generate cash for charity, as one per cent of each sale will be donated to the organisation chosen by the product distributor of the day. Although the site is launching in the US for the time being, it would be surprising if it does not make the leap to the UK in the near future.

Many people are looking for ethical, safe shopping online in the modern world and Roozt is just one of the many websites which are growing to meet the public demand. Across North America and Europe new sites are popping up and even larger e-commerce firms like eBay are beginning to support bespoke ethical areas of their sites, to enable socially and environmentally conscious consumers to buy with confidence.