- How Starting Your Online Shopping at Cooler Helps Eliminate Global Warming
- Searching & Ordering
- Your Account
- Technical Help
- Cooler Policies
- Cooler Environmental Projects & Partners
I. How Starting Your Online Shopping at Cooler Helps Eliminate Global Warming
- How does starting my online shopping at Cooler help eliminate global warming?
- It really costs nothing for me to sign up, shop, and eliminate the impact of my purchases through Cooler?
- How does Cooler calculate the impact of my purchases?
II. Searching & Ordering
- How many products are available through Cooler?
- How many stores offer their products through Cooler?
- How do I search for a particular product?
- What does 'pounds eliminated' mean next to a product?
- How does Cooler ensure that prices are the same as if I started my online shopping directly at a participating store?
- Why do I have to start my online shopping at Cooler to eliminate the impact of all my online purchases?
- What's the status of my order?
III. Your Account
- Do I have to create a Cooler account to eliminate the environmental impact of my purchases?
- Why should I create a Cooler account?
- Help! I lost my password.
- How do I update my account?
- How can I view the total pounds of global warming pollution eliminated?
IV. Technical Help
V. Cooler Policies
- What is Cooler's Privacy Policy?
- What is Cooler's Terms of Use?
- What are the return policies and procedures for Cooler stores?
VI. Cooler Environmental Projects & Partners
- What type of clean energy and pollution prevention projects does Cooler invest in?
- What are the guidelines for Cooler's investments?
- Which environmental partners help guide Cooler's investments?
- What is Cooler doing to guarantee results?
- I have a question about the calculation of the impact of my purchases through Cooler. Who do I contact?
I. How Starting Your Online Shopping at Cooler Helps Eliminate Global Warming
How does starting my online shopping at Cooler help eliminate global warming?
The production and delivery of all products and services generates pollution that negatively impacts the environment. Although we can't eliminate all consumption and its impact, we can make smarter decisions about how we purchase products. When you start all your online shopping by first visiting the Cooler Web site and follow links to the products and stores you want to purchase from, you are purchasing at the same prices as you would if you went to the store directly, and in effect telling the participating store that you want a percentage of your order allocated to eliminate the pollution impact your purchase has generated. The store then pays a commission for your order to Cooler, and we then invest in clean energy and pollution prevention projects. If you purchase at stores without coming to Cooler first, the store hasn't received your explicit request to eliminate the impact of your purchase.
It really costs nothing for me to sign up, shop, and eliminate the impact of my purchases through Cooler?
That's right. It costs you nothing to sign up, shop, and eliminate the impact of all purchases you make through Cooler. When you come to Cooler and then purchase products through participating stores, you pay the same prices for the products as if you first visited the store, however, the store pays Cooler a commission for your purchase and we then invest in clean energy and pollution prevention projects.
How does Cooler calculate the impact of my purchases?
Using peer-reviewed methods developed at Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of California at Berkeley, Cooler determines how much global warming pollution is emitted in the production, transportation, and retailing of the goods and services you buy. Our method is precise and conservative. For example, the global warming impact of a cup of coffee includes:
- the raw materials (hot water, coffee),
- the packaging (paper cup),
- the emissions associated with running the coffee shop itself,
- the transport of goods to the shop, and
- the impact of airline flights taken by the company’s sales and marketing executives.
Additionally, we work with each manufacturer, service provider, and store to improve the calculation. Every purchase you make also helps us make our calculations more accurate and moves all companies toward a more accurate accounting of their own impact on global warming.
Learn more about carbon footprinting the technical term for what we do.
II. Searching & Ordering
How many products are available through Cooler?
From computers, electronics, apparel, books, movies, and so much more, millions of products and services you normally purchase online are available for purchase through Cooler. [View] all product categories.
How many stores offer their products through Cooler?
Hundreds of stores offer their products through Cooler, including Apple, Barnes & Noble, The Body Shop, Dell, Netflix, and Zappos. View all stores.
How do I search for products?
You can search for products using the search box in the left-hand section of our Web site. With millions of products, if you search and get no results, broaden your search by eliminating specific words.
What does 'pounds eliminated' mean next to a product?
Products featured on our Web site include the pounds of pollution needed to produce and ship the product to you. By shopping for the product by starting out at the Cooler Web site and then completing the purchase at the shop, instead of by visiting the store directly, you indicate to the shop that you want them to provide a percentage of the purchase price to Cooler so we can eliminate the pounds of pollution by [investing] in clean energy and pollution prevention projects.
NOTE: You will not see the pounds eliminated when you land at the store's product page, however, the store will provide Cooler with the money needed to eliminate, and we will report your impact as soon as the retailer reports your final purchase to us.
How does Cooler ensure that prices are the same as if I started my online shopping directly at a participating store?
Stores honor the same price on all products and services when you start your purchase at the Cooler Web site. There is no mark-up, fee, or price difference when you purchase by linking to a product or store through Cooler than if you had started your purchase by visiting the store directly.
Why do I have to start my online shopping at Cooler to eliminate the impact of all my online purchases?
By starting your online shopping experience at Cooler and clicking on products or stores, you are electronically indicating to stores that you want them to provide a percentage of your purchase price to eliminate the pollution impact of your purchases. If you were to visit stores directly, they have no way of knowing that you want to eliminate the impact of your purchases.
What's the status of my order?
When you start your online shopping experience through Cooler, you purchase all products and services directly through the participating store's Web site. Since your purchase is made directly with a store, you must visit the store's Web site to view the status of your order.
More questions? Contact Customer Service.
III. Your Account
Do I have to create a Cooler account to eliminate the environmental impact of my purchases?
You do not have to create a Cooler account to eliminate the environmental impact of your purchases. After finding a product or store from which you want to purchase, you have the choice of signing in or continuing on without signing in. In either case, you're indicating to the store that you want the environmental impact of your purchase to be eliminated. When you purchase without signing in, however, you are not recording the overall impact of your purchases through Cooler. You can choose to remain anonymous by not creating an account and not signing in, but many consumers find it interesting and gratifying to track their overall impact by creating an account and shopping through Cooler.
Why should I create a Cooler account?
Creating a Cooler account enables you to track the number of pounds of pollution you've eliminated by purchasing through Cooler. Though you can choose to remain anonymous by not creating an account and not signing in, many consumers find it interesting and gratifying to track their overall impact by creating an account and shopping through Cooler.
Help! I lost my password.
You can always request your password here.
How do I update my account?
Sign in to update your account information, password, and preferences.
How can I view the total pounds of global warming pollution eliminated?
Sign in to view the total pounds of global warming pollution you've eliminated by beginning your online shopping through Cooler.
More questions? Contact Customer Service.
IV. Technical Help
What are cookies and how do I enable them?
HTTP cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. Cookies allow your browser to remember specific information, such as your preference to have a percentage of your order value allocated to eliminate the environmental impact of your purchase. A cookie can't be used to get data from your hard drive, get your e-mail address, or retrieve any personal information.
Every browser places access to cookies differently. We've included information for Internet Explorer below. If you are using another browser, please visit your browser's help page to find out how to enable them. If you can't find the information there, try contacting your browser's customer service department.
We are committed to protecting your privacy. Our cookies do not contain any personally identifying information, but they do enable us to eliminate the impact of your purchases made through Cooler. Participating stores may also use cookies. Cooler encourages all companies who use cookies to follow appropriate privacy standards and policies, but we are not responsible for cookies placed by third parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. If you've set your browser to reject cookies, you can still use our Web site, but the impact of your purchases won't be added within your Cooler account.
I'm using Internet Explorer. How do I enable cookies?
If you use Internet Explorer 6.0:
Internet Explorer version 6.0 has several options available for handling cookies. This new version is privacy driven, and thus you may encounter some conflicts when trying to use cookies with this version's default Security and Privacy settings. To make sure you have cookies enabled to use our secure Checkout, double check your browser settings:
- In the menu bar at the top of your browser click on Tools, then on Internet Options
- Click on the Security tab
- Set the security level to Medium to allow cookies
- Then click on the Privacy tab
- Set the level to Medium (the default Medium-High, and High settings will override the acceptance of any cookies)
- Next, while still on the Privacy tab click on the Advanced button
- Then click the box that indicates "Override automatic cookie handling."
- Make sure the following boxes are checked: Accept First-party Cookies, Prompt Third-party Cookies, and Always allow session cookies.
Session cookies are used to store information only during a single session. That is, session cookies enable you to search from one page to the next page without losing any of your search criteria or items that may be in your cart. Session cookies also remember your e-mail address and password when completing your order. These cookies are deleted from your computer automatically when you are finished searching or ordering.
If you use Internet Explorer 5.x:
- Click the Tools menu, then click Internet Options. Then choose Security.
- In the Internet Options dialog, choose the Internet as your content zone (click the globe).
- Click the Custom Level button.
- Scroll down the list until you see the Cookies section. Go to the item that is titled "Allow cookies that are stored on your computer" and click the Enable option.
- Then click the OK button.
More questions? Contact Customer Service.
V. Cooler Policies
What is Cooler's Privacy Policy?
View our Privacy Policy.
What is Cooler's Terms of Use?
View our Terms of Use.
What are the return policies and procedures for Cooler stores?
When you start your online shopping experience through Cooler, you purchase all products and services directly through the participating store's Web site. Since your purchase is made directly with a store, you must visit the store's Web site to view their returns policy and procedures.
More questions? Contact Customer Service.
VI. Cooler Environmental Projects & Partners
What type of clean energy and pollution prevention projects does Cooler invest in?
Cooler only invests in projects that proactively contribute to solving global warming according to strict guidelines set by our Technical Advisory Committee which is led by the world’s leading environmental organizations. Besides reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these projects must:
- Reduce energy use or promote renewable energy, and
- Help real people in real places live more sustainably.
Right now, the global warming impact of your shopping is being eliminated with investments in projects like these.
What are the guidelines for Cooler's investments?
All of Cooler’s carbon offsets adhere to strict guidelines set by our Technical Advisory Committee which is led by the world's leading environmental organizations. To provide trusted, high quality offsets, Cooler carefully scrutinizes each project using the following guidelines:
Real
Offsets must be verified as real and assured
to be permanent. More than you might think goes into ensuring an offset is
real, much of that is technical nitty gritty. All Cooler offsets must be
calculated using scientifically rigorous methodologies, be verified and
validated by independent third parties, have clear ownership, be registered,
and be tracked. In addition, offsets must be permanent, and not just moving
emissions somewhere else. In short, they must be real.
Additional
Offsets must be additional.
“Additionality,” or going beyond business as usual, is what defines an activity
as an offset. An activity is additional if it overcomes existing
barriers—financial, legal, regulatory, or even common practice. Additionality
is an opportunity to push solutions to global warming that otherwise would not
happen for lack of money or lack of motivation.
Positive Social
and Environmental Impact
The overall net impact of an offset project
must be positive both to the environment and society. Projects are carefully
evaluated to ensure that new, even worse, problems are not created solving
another. Cooler seeks multi-benefit projects, ones that not only reduce
emissions, but also provide other environmental and human benefits, such as
preventing water pollution or creating jobs.
Which environmental partners help guide Cooler's investments?
Cooler has partnered with the world's leading environmental organizations that constitute our Technical Advisory Committee, including the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Gold Standard to develop, update, and enforce strict guidelines which determine which projects proactively contribute to solving global warming.
What is Cooler doing to guarantee results?
Cooler has a rigorous quality control and feedback system in place for both the way we calculate the impact of your purchases and to ensure the quality of our investments in carbon offsets.
- Calculations:
Besides using a peer-reviewed calculator with a strong scientific
foundation, we check in with our vendors and customers about the accuracy
of our calculations in four ways:
- We monitor purchases electronically and check our assumptions against the overall shopping patterns of our customers. This allows us to continuously fine-tune our carbon calculator and to collect the data we need to get you better information and to make our calculations more accurate.
- With your permission, we randomly check a sample of purchases online or by calling our customers to make sure nothing is slipping through the cracks.
- We employ an independent auditor to regularly verify that we are meeting our commitment to eliminate the global warming impact of every purchase
- We invite our customers to tell us more. After shopping, you can always ask us to explain our calculation and help us improve it on a real-time basis.
- Carbon Offsets: All of the projects we invest in are approved by our Technical Advisory Committee and the offsets we purchase from them are registered so they can only be used once. In addition, Cooler has its own rigorous due diligence process to ensure that projects meet high standards for environmental and community impact.
I have a question about the calculation of the impact of my purchases through Cooler. Who do I contact?
If you have questions about the calculation of the environmental impact of your purchases through Cooler, please complete the calculation feedback form with information about your purchase, and we’ll make sure to correct any errors and improve our calculations moving forward. If you help us to improve our calculation, you may receive a reward for helping out!
More questions? Contact Customer Service.