Note: Lola Digital Media is AllGear Digital as of December 2022.
Lola Digital Media today announced an initiative focused on sustainability. The Comprehensive Sustainability Score (CSS) rates products and manufacturers based on multiple metrics, from materials used, to shipping practices, to packaging waste.
“We developed CSS to serve as a benchmark for companies and as a tool for our readers,” said Sean McCoy, Editorial Director. “It’s a proprietary system built from the ground up, and you’ll soon see it roll out across multiple sites.”
The company’s portfolio of publications, including GearJunkie, Switchback Travel, Explorersweb, and Bikerumor, will begin implementing CSS on reviewed products this month. CSS will be listed alongside other common industry stats like price, weight, and materials used.
The Comprehensive Sustainability Score will distinguish a product’s impact on the environment on a 1-to-100 scale. A graphic icon denotes a CSS number for each product listed in articles to help guide a reader’s purchasing decision.
McCoy explained that CSS was designed to be “quantitative, research-based, and prominent in published articles,” adding it will be “a key determinant of which products our editors recommend” in many articles.
“Our sustainability initiative will help consumers purchase products that have the least impact on the environment,” said Eric Phung, CEO. “It will hopefully give our readers the chance to minimize their carbon footprint.”
GearJunkie, Switchback Travel, Explorersweb, and BikeRumor, plus other publications, review and recommend thousands of products each year. McCoy said he believes CSS will encourage more manufacturers to consider their impact on the planet.
“Each CSS icon and rating is a small step,” McCoy said, “but I believe that more transparency around impact is needed, and, at scale, these kinds of efforts can truly move the needle toward change.”
ABOUT LOLA DIGITAL MEDIA: Lola Digital Media owns and operates best-in-class media brands that fuel readers’ passions. Based in Los Angeles, the company was founded in 2018 and runs a portfolio of digital publications and media brands.
