Our approach to selecting content for Otter
Otter’s main purpose is to help you make consumer choices that fit with your values. Each fortnight we include
- original content
- links to content created by others
This page explains how we select the items for Otter.
Our focus is on actionable information
Otter makes it easier for consumers to make ethical consumption choices. Most Otter articles provide information that is easy to act on. We rarely include articles that only provide background information about a problem but don’t have a solution for consumers.
We focus on four key areas of consumer concern
There is no such thing as “the ethical consumer” – different consumers are interested in different ethical issues. Otter reflects this diversity by offering articles which cover a range of ethical issues each week. The four main concerns at Otter are:
- Environmental sustainability
- Animal rights
- Fair trade and labour rights
- Consumer health and safety
We focus on consumer choices not public policy issues
Public debate about political issues is incredibly important. Some issues can only be solved when governments act. But there is much that consumers can do, and Otter’s focus is on our decisions as consumers.
Otter includes information relevant to a wide range of consumer choices. These include the following product and service categories:
- General household goods
- Food and drink
- Fashion and clothing
- Babies and kids
- Beauty and personal care
- Computers, IT and electronics
- Building, hardware and outdoor
- Recreation
- Financial services and other services
Consumer decisions are not just about buying, but also include alternatives to buying such as collaborative consumption, sharing and alternative ways to meet our needs.
Content from other sources
We do our best to ensure that Otter content is from reliable sources.
We prefer content that explains why it recommends a particular action and includes sources or data to back it up.
We prefer content from sources without product advertising, but will include media sources where advertising content is unlikely to influence a particular story and content from reputable blogs (as opposed to those that appear to be an excuse for a page of ads).
We’re also happy to link to quality content from an ethical business where the content is not mere self promotion and where that is the best source for content that is useful to Otter readers.
Otter style and impact
Our aim is for Otter to
- provide trusted consumer information based on credible sources
- be useful to a broad range of consumers regardless of their political leanings or degree of commitment to particular ethical issues
- be enjoyable, attractive and fun
- provide timely information that is simply presented and easy to use.
We’d welcome your comments – use our suggest page.