Greenify the shopping experience: Real Costs

RealCosts is “is a Firefox plug-in that inserts emissions data into travel related e-commerce websites. The first version adds CO2 emissions information to airfare websites such as Orbitz.com, United.com, Delta.com, etc. Following versions will work with car directions, car rental, and shipping websites. Think of it like the nutritional information labeling on the back of food… except for emissions“.

This kind of service was already available on some e-commerce websites (for instance on Voyages-Sncf.com french website). But what I like in Real Costs:

• The service is provided to the end user by a 3rd party company, not by the merchant itself – easier to trust the results. Furthermore, a Wiki is available to see which formulas have been implemented.
• The name of the service suggests the real cost of a trip is not only the price you pay : indirect costs on our environment must be taken into account. I really like this approach when we try to educate people.
• By using GreaseMonkey technology, the comparison charts are directly embedded into merchant webpages.

I really feel this kind of service should be integrated in shopping engines – to expose those environmental considerations to a bigger audience.

(via Standblog)