Our Methodology
How we assess products to give you the complete picture of their true impact
Every product assessment on LifecycleProducts follows a rigorous, transparent methodology designed to evaluate the full impact of a product from cradle to grave. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions by providing comprehensive data on environmental impact, health implications, and overall quality.
Assessment Framework
START HEREWhich product categories have the highest impact? Priority matrix for where to focus your assessments.
Lifecycle Negatives
Environmental costs including carbon footprint, water usage, waste, land use, and pollution
Health Impacts
Safety scores, health concerns, and benefits of products
Lifecycle Positives
Positive impacts like fair wages, environmental improvements, recyclability with downcycling penalties, and repairability
Use & Quality
Durability, functionality, user satisfaction, and expected lifetime
Lifetime Value Analysis
Cost per use, cost per year, and total lifetime value calculations
Cost Breakdown
How product prices are distributed across materials, labor, marketing, and profit
Data Sources & Methodology
Our assessments are based on research from multiple sources, using order-of-magnitude estimates when precise data isn't available:
- • "How Bad Are Bananas?" by Mike Berners-Lee - carbon footprint estimation methodology
- • Published lifecycle assessment (LCA) studies
- • Environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) models for spend-based estimates
- • Manufacturer disclosures and certifications
- • Third-party testing organizations
- • Environmental databases (e.g., Ecoinvent, GaBi)
- • Consumer product safety databases
- • Downcycling research for recyclability penalties
- • User reviews and satisfaction surveys
When detailed data isn't available, we use material proxies and acknowledge uncertainty ranges. A rough estimate that captures the right magnitude is more useful than no estimate at all.
Comprehensive Research Sources
All sources, citations, and detailed references supporting our methodology sections are compiled on our comprehensive references page. This includes research on environmental impacts, health impacts, and global burden of disease studies that inform our prioritization.