EthicalScanner.com
Shop Your Values. Instantly.
A people-first service that helps conscious consumers make better choices at the exact moment it matters—while they're shopping. Scan any barcode for an instant ethics report. Barcode detection runs on the device, and each scan helps improve a privacy-conscious knowledge base about products and brands.
Better Choices, Right When It Matters
Instant Answers While Shopping
Standing in the grocery aisle wondering if this brand is ethical? Scan the barcode. Get a comprehensive ethics report in under 2 seconds. Make informed decisions on the spot.
Privacy-First Architecture
Your camera feed never leaves your device. Barcode detection runs entirely in-browser using BarcodeDetector API. Only the barcode number is sent to lookup—never your images, never your location.
Evidence-Backed, Not Opinion
Every score is traceable to source data: certifications, ingredients, company records, third-party databases. Users can see exactly why a product scored the way it did.
8 Dimensions That Matter
Labor practices. Environmental impact. Animal welfare. Transparency. Corporate conduct. Geopolitical ethics. Health. Community. The full picture, weighted and scored.
A Dataset That Improves With Use
Every scan can improve coverage without building a personal profile of the person scanning.
The platform organizes structured information about products, brands, certifications, evidence sources, and coverage gaps while keeping the consumer experience privacy-conscious.
Product Intelligence
Which products are being scanned. What categories are trending. Which brands consumers are researching. Ingredient and certification coverage gaps.
Brand Profiles
100+ pre-loaded brand profiles with ethics scores, controversy tracking, parent company mapping. AI auto-researches new brands and caches results.
Certification Database
200+ certifications mapped to ethical dimensions. Fair Trade, B Corp, Leaping Bunny, FSC, GOTS, and more. Each with precise scoring impacts.
Research & Integrations
A documented API, embeddable interface, research workflows, and configurable deployments make the knowledge layer useful beyond the scanner itself.
8 Dimensions, Scored 0–100
Labor
20%Fair wages, working conditions, supply chain ethics, union rights
Environment
22%Carbon footprint, packaging, deforestation, pollution, sourcing
Animal Welfare
12%Cruelty-free testing, vegan ingredients, humane treatment
Transparency
12%Ingredient disclosure, supply chain traceability, public reporting
Corporate Conduct
10%Business ethics, legal compliance, governance
Geopolitical Ethics
10%Country of origin, sanctions compliance, conflict region sourcing
Health
8%Nutritional quality, harmful additives, Nutri-Score, NOVA group
Community
6%Local sourcing, small business support, cooperative ownership
Weights are configurable. Users can prioritize what matters most to them—more weight on environment, less on health, or vice versa. The platform adapts to individual values.
Scan → Score → Decide
Scan Barcode
Point your camera at any product. BarcodeDetector API runs entirely in your browser—no image upload, complete privacy.
Multi-Provider Lookup
System queries 7+ databases in parallel: Open Food Facts, Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, and more. Falls back to AI vision if needed.
Evidence-Based Scoring
Rules engine processes certifications, ingredients, packaging, country of origin, boycott lists, and company profiles. Every score backed by traceable evidence.
AI Enhancement
Groq AI (Llama 3.3) analyzes unknowns, researches companies, and identifies products from photos when barcode lookup fails.
What Makes the Project Distinctive
Evidence at the Decision Moment
The scanner turns complex labor, environmental, health, and corporate evidence into an understandable report while a person is holding the product.
18+ Months of Development
Not a weekend project. Production-grade architecture, comprehensive documentation, multiple client apps, AI integration, 1,150+ lines of scoring logic, 100+ brand profiles, 200+ certification mappings.
Growing Knowledge Base
Each scan helps reveal product coverage gaps and enriches structured brand, certification, ingredient, and evidence records.
Multiple Interfaces
Web, Android, desktop, administrative, and API surfaces share one methodology and one product knowledge layer.
Privacy as Architecture
On-device barcode detection, minimal personal data, transparent methods, and traceable evidence are structural product decisions.
Connected Surfaces, Shared Methodology
The consumer-facing scanner is supported by a complete set of applications, data integrations, administration tools, and documentation:
🌐 Web App
Flask 3.x + MongoDB. 19 themes. In-browser barcode detection. Vision AI fallback. Methodology and dispute pages.
📱 Android App
Native Kotlin with ML Kit barcode scanner. Offline caching. Google Play publishing guide included.
🖥️ Desktop App
Electron app for Windows, macOS, Linux. System tray integration. Build scripts for all platforms.
⚙️ Admin Panel
20+ API endpoints. Product/user/dispute management. Role-based access. Complete audit logging.
🔌 REST API
JWT authentication, Swagger/ReDoc documentation, CORS support, and rate limiting for controlled integrations.
📊 7+ Data Sources
Open Food/Products/Beauty/Pet Food Facts, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Wikidata, and other open data sources.
🤖 AI Integration
Groq Llama 3.3 for company research. Vision model for product identification. Auto-caching.
📚 4,000+ Lines Docs
Architecture, API reference, deployment guides, 930-line improvement roadmap.
From Scan to Evidence to Insight
EthicalScanner.com Identity
Live project domain and consumer-facing visual system
People-First Consumer Service
Privacy-centered, instant ethics scanning
Product Knowledge System
Non-private product/brand intelligence
Complete Support Infrastructure
5 services, 4,000+ lines docs, production configs
Transparent Methodology
Configurable scoring with evidence-linked explanations
Empower Conscious Consumers. Build a Data Asset.
A privacy-first service that helps people shop their values instantly—while collecting valuable, non-private product and brand intelligence with every scan.
Ask About the Project