Out of the Box

Sustainability credential analysis made easy

NEW STARTUP DAYRIZE HAS LAUNCHED A NEW DIGITAL SOLUTION THAT ALLOWS CONSUMERS TO QUICKLY AND EASILY ASSESS THE SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS OF PRODUCTS THEY ARE BUYING

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

A solution that lets consumers assess the sustainability credentials of any product they are planning on buying, or have bought, in a matter of minutes.

WHO’S DOING IT?

A company called Dayrize, a ‘cleantech’ startup that says it is on a mission to save the planet through sustainable shopping.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Dayrize has developed a proprietary sustainability assessment tool which rapidly and robustly assesses the environmental impact of any product in minutes instead of months. For the first time, consumers will be able to easily compare the sustainability of all products without leaving the platform they’re shopping on, and make an informed decision based on a product’s measured environmental impact.

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM?

Dayrize was apparently created to meet the needs of “a growing conscious consumer base that desires to buy sustainable products but finds it difficult to not only find them, but to make sense of the many labels and claims on the environmental performance of products and companies”. Additionally, the costly, complicated and time consuming nature of Life Cycle Assessments – the industry standard approach for measuring a product’s sustainability – puts it out of reach for most businesses, leaving consumers in the dark about environmental impacts.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The tool uses artificial intelligence to analyse product sourcing, manufacturing information and various relevant datasets to rapidly and robustly assess and standardise the environmental impact of any product. This complex application of technology creates a simple output for consumers: a single, meaningful figure they can understand, known as the Dayrize Score.

THE DAYRIZE SCORE?

The Dayrize Score has been developed by a team of scientists and the methodology for arriving at the score is continuously peer reviewed by leading experts in the field. The score is based on the principle that a truly sustainable product (a score of 100) is one that fulfils a meaningful purpose, is designed in a circular manner, is non-hazardous, responsibly sourced, fully recyclable, and regenerative. The rigorous score evaluates five key factors across the entire product cycle – from raw material extraction to disposal – which together provide a holistic assessment of sustainability performance:

● Circularity: How well an individual product minimises waste by reusing and recycling resources to create a closed loop system

● Climate Impact: How greenhouse gas intensive the production of the product has been

● Ecosystem Impact: What the impact of the product is on biodiversity and water depletion

● Livelihoods & Wellbeing: How each product impacts the health and wellbeing of the people involved in creating it

● Purpose: How meaningful a product’s purpose is by looking at the value that it provides, and the potential it has to be an accelerator for good.

HOW DO SHOPPERS USE THE SITE?

Shoppers can check the sustainability credentials of any product on the Dayrize website and have a unique opportunity to see their ‘Dayrize Savings’ in real-time, and understand the difference their individual purchase choices have on the planet. For each purchase, shoppers will see how much CO2, water and land use has been saved by their purchasing decisions.

AND BRANDS?

Along with helping consumers make better informed decisions to buy more sustainably, Dayrize will also work with brand partners by offering ongoing knowledge and insights on methods to improve the sustainability of their products and raise their Dayrize Score on the platform.

Dayrize will provide brands that cannot afford to conduct complex and costly product Life Cycle Assessments with information on the environmental impact of their products, and actionable feedback on how to improve their sourcing and production. Dayrize will also be reinvesting 5% of its annual profits to support its brand partners in redesigning their products and value chains to lower their impact.

WHICH PRODUCT CATEGORIES DOES IT ANALYSE?

At the moment it focuses principally on fashion and health and beauty, but the breadth of categories covered will expand in future.

WHAT IS DAYRIZE SAYING?

Vincent Hoogduijn, Dayrize CEO and Co-founder, comments: “Most people have the intention to shop sustainably but have sadly been underserved by the confusing process of assessing the true impact their purchase has on the planet. Through green washing, many brands have further added to the confusion and inadvertently created a sense of cynicism in many shoppers.

“At Dayrize, we wanted to make the process of assessing the sustainability of a product accurate and easy to understand for the average consumer. We’ve done the rigorous legwork of building a ground-breaking standard that simplifies and democratises sustainable shopping. We hope by doing this, people can begin to see how making small changes in their purchasing habits can add up to huge differences for our planet.”

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

www.dayrize.com