August, 06 2009, 01:16pm EDT
ResponsibleShopper.org: Are Any Airlines Flying RIght for Responsible Consumers?
New Airline Section Added to Green America’s Web Site for Concerned Consumers; Southwest, Virgin Rated Highest, While United Brings Up Rear.
WASHINGTON
Which airlines are companies that you would feel the most
comfortable giving your business to? That is the question tackled in
the newly added 'Airlines' section of Green America's consumer watchdog
Web site, ResponsibleShopper.org (https://www.ResponsibleShopper.org).
Looking
at environmental, human rights, labor, ethics & governance, and
health & safety issues, ResponsibleShopper.org ranks Southwest the
best, Virgin second best. United is in last place. Companies in the
industry received low marks overall for ethics and governance.
Green America Responsible Shopper Coordinator Victoria Kreha said:
"It's another big step forward for ResponsibleShoppper.org to add
airlines to the range of industries we profile on our corporate
watchdog Web site. Airline travel is a big expense for many responsible
consumers and we want to make it as easy as possible for them to spend
their money with airlines that are making an effort to be better
corporate citizens."
Green America Corporate Responsibility Programs Director Todd Larsen, said:
"The addition of the airlines section reflects the Number 1 goal for
Green America's ResponsibleShopper.org: to be the Web's most powerful
one-stop information resource for concerned consumers. The result is
that ResponsibleShopper.org now provides you with the real story about
abuses by well-known companies, gives you actions to promote corporate
responsibility, and helps you green your life and world."
At ResponsibleShopper.org, you can find the answers to the following:
*
Which airline was fined $7.1 million in August 2008 for violating drug-
and alcohol-testing protocols for its pilots and for flying aircraft
that were not properly maintained?
* Which airline ejected
six Muslim clerics from a Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight, subjecting
them to handcuffing, detention, and questioning, after a fellow
passenger told a flight attendant he was alarmed to have seen them
praying before the flight?
* Which airline was accused in
2007 by the AFL-CIO of distributing anti-union literature in an attempt
to block 7,650 service employees at Newark Liberty International
Airport from forming a union?
Kreha added: "Of
course, it's not all bad news when it comes to the airline industry. At
ResponsibleShopper.org you can also find out which airlines are working
to reduce their fleets' emissions, or received a high score from the
Human Rights Campaign. As with all of the industries profiled on
ResponsibleShopper.org, we rank the airline companies all on one page,
where an easy-to-read chart compares their performance in categories
like environment, labor, human rights, health & safety, and ethics
& governance."
The full "Airline" ranking chart (with criteria) is available at https://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/industry/airlines.cfm
ABOUT RESPONSIBLESHOPPER.ORG
ResponsibleShopper
(https://www.responsibleshopper.org) informs concerned consumers about
problem corporate practices, action campaigns and ways to live greener
in relation to more than 150 major consumer companies. In a major
enhancement of the Web site, ResponsibleShopper.org now ranks companies
in 27 industry categories from best to worst based on research focusing
on such key issues as human rights, social justice, environmental
sustainability and more.
In addition, to attention getting
companies like WalMart and Exxon, major consumer companies ranked by
the new ResponsibleShopper.org site include such brand-name
corporations as McDonalds, Toyota, Coca Cola, Disney, Hanes, and
General Electric.
Companies are listed
and ranked on ResponsibleShopper.org in the following categories:
agribusiness; airlines; appliances; athletic wear; automobile;
banking/financial; beauty and body care; beverage/water; big box
retailer; big pharma; booksellers; chemicals; cleaning products;
clothing; coffee; computer/electronics; department stores; electric
utilities; electronics; fast food; food; gas/oil; home
improvement/building; Internet; mass media (TV, radio, film);
supermarkets; tires; tobacco; and toys/games.
Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 and known until January 1, 2009 as "Co-op America." Green America's mission is to harness economic power--the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace--to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
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