Resourcehip
HIP Mark — Standard

What to look for.

Buyer's guides for everyday products — what materials hold up, what's worth repairing, and where the gap is between a typical product and the best its category can do. Free. Independent. Built in Scotland.

Read a buyer's guide What does the mark mean?

Buyer's guides by category

Each guide covers what makes a good one in its category — the materials, the design choices, and the checklist to use at the point of purchase.

Air Fryers How to Choose a Sustainable Air Fryer (UK Buyer's Guide) Air fryers cook efficiently but most are designed to be unrepairable and short-lived. The category baseline scores... Coffee Pod Machines How to Choose a Sustainable Coffee Pod Machine (UK Buyer's Guide) Most pod-machine sustainability conversations focus on the pods. The machine itself matters too. Category baseline:... Cordless Drills How to Choose a Sustainable Cordless Drill (UK Buyer's Guide) A cordless drill is a multi-decade tool with a five-year battery. The category baseline scores 2.5/10. The ceiling... Electric Toothbrushes How to Choose a Sustainable Electric Toothbrush (UK Buyer's Guide) Sealed handles, lithium and cobalt batteries, no spare parts. Category baseline 2.0/10. Ceiling 6.5. Here is what... Hair Dryers How to Choose a Sustainable Hair Dryer (UK Buyer's Guide) A hair dryer is one of the few small appliances whose motor genuinely outlasts the rest of the product. Category... Kettles How to Choose a Sustainable Kettle (UK Buyer's Guide) Kettles have the highest baseline HIP score in the small-appliance set. The category ceiling is Silver-adjacent.... Portable Speakers How to Choose a Sustainable Portable Speaker (UK Buyer's Guide) Speaker drivers can last decades. The lithium-ion battery typically does not. Category baseline 2.0/10. Ceiling 6.4.... Robot Vacuums How to Choose a Sustainable Robot Vacuum (UK Buyer's Guide) A robot vacuum is the only category where software lifespan can brick the hardware. Category baseline 2.3/10.... Smartphones How to Choose a Sustainable Smartphone (UK Buyer's Guide) The category baseline scores 1.9/10. The verified ceiling scores 6.4. Here is what closes that gap, and what to look... Wireless Earbuds How to Choose a Sustainable Pair of Wireless Earbuds (UK Buyer's Guide) Wireless earbuds are the only category where even the verified ceiling falls short of the Standard HIP Mark....
HIP Mark tiers explained — Standard, Silver, and Gold

The data behind the guides

Every guide is backed by a seven-dimension material resilience rating. We score products from 0 to 10 — covering how rare the materials are, how easy the product is to repair, and what happens when you're finished with it.

We start cautious. Most everyday products score low because we assume the worst when the maker hasn't shared data. Real data nearly always lifts the score. That gap between baseline and ceiling is the whole story.

See the full method →
HIP Mark Standard A solid baseline. Built to last and avoids the worst materials. HIP Mark Silver A real step up. Better materials, easier to repair, more recyclable. HIP Mark Gold Best in its category. Top scores across all seven dimensions we check. Verified by us.

Category baselines

Every category starts with a conservative baseline — what a typical product scores when the manufacturer hasn't shared data. The gap between here and the ceiling is what our guides help you navigate.

Air Fryers Baseline — 2.9 / 10 Air Purifiers Baseline — 2.9 / 10 Aluminium Bicycles Baseline — 3.6 / 10 Angle Grinders Baseline — 3.1 / 10 BBQs Baseline — 2.8 / 10 Baby Monitors Baseline — 1.7 / 10 Bamboo Kitchenware Baseline — 4.2 / 10 Basic Fitness Trackers Baseline — 1.9 / 10