The Y-FACTOR™ Yoga product rating system

Why ?

We want our network to have a positive economic and social impact on the european Yoga community, such as improving online resources, supporting smaller, independent providers and offering more opportunities for working with Yoga.

So, rather than just let profit guide us we have invented a little system which helps us make sense of the wacky world of Yoga commerce !

The Y-FACTOR™ system represents our rating of all the various Yoga products and services we promote, based on criteria that we think are most important in helping people develop a sound Yoga practice.

Ethical issues

• Is the product or service produced in a region with a good human rights record and under a non-oppressive regime ?
• Are good working practices followed locally ? (e.g. as to worker's rights, pay and conditions etc.)
• Are (manufacturing) standards officially monitored – or are there other, regular on-site visits ?
• Does the supplier appear to trade in an open and fair way ? (e.g. avoiding anti-competitive practices etc.)
• Does the product/service labelling and/or information relevant, accurate, unambiguous and easily-accessible?

Fair trade

• Does the supplier have a policy to ensure that neither the company nor its suppliers or contractors use forced, bonded or child labour?
• Does the supplier respect the human rights, land, culture and intellectual property of tribal and indigenous peoples?
• Does the product/service directly benefit economically disadvantaged people ?
• How much does the product/service follow widely regarded principles of fair trade ?

Environmental impact, Ecology and Ahimsa

• Overall, how friendly is the production, use and disposal of the product/service on the environment ?
• How much does the design and production of the product/service follow widely regarded principles of sustainability ?
• Does the product or service pose a threat or present special risks to the general welfare of living beings, or their natural habitats, or to scarce natural resources?
• Is the product or services environmentally certified (i.e. under a third party certification scheme addressing environmental aspects, such as eco-labelling or organic certification) etc ?
• Does the supplier have a strategy for waste management and minimisation?
• Does the supplier have an environmental policy that extends to its suppliers and contractors?
• Does the manufacturer / main distributor take any special measures to reduce the ecological impact, (eg. by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions) ?

Special relevancy and innovation

• How special, or unique is the product / service in terms of design features for Yoga ? (eg. design patents, protected processes etc.)

Supply chain

How important is it for the supplier to work with us over the longer term ?