The Throne Standard
The Throne Standard is one idea, applied to everything we list and to every category we add next. We list only what reaches the top of its field, and we show the data behind every verdict so you can check it yourself.
What the top looks like depends on the category. Sometimes it is a score from 1 to 5, where only the best is a 5 out of 5. Sometimes it is a 100 percent bar you either meet or you do not. The method never changes: we start from the raw facts, whether that is the fibre composition, the ingredient list, the cocoa supply chain, the recycled content or the sustainability features, and we research and verify each one against a named source, in person wherever we can.
Three rules sit behind every listing and every score: the data decides, not the marketing; every figure is traceable to a named source; and nobody pays to change it. Below is how each category is judged today. As we open new categories, they are held to this same standard and added here.
Pure data, read from the source
Every verdict on Hold The Throne is built from a brand’s own data, not its marketing. We do not score from surveys, press releases or a certification badge on its own. We go to the source and read it.
- We read the real SKUs. For clothing we open the brand’s live product listings, the actual SKUs, and read the fibre composition off each label, product by product. The plant fibre percentage that sets the score is counted from those real products, not estimated and not taken from a marketing page.
- We read the full ingredient list and supply chain. For bath and body, food and chocolate we read every ingredient and trace the sourcing, so a naturally derived isolate, an additive or an untraceable supply chain shows up in the data instead of hiding behind a clean label.
- We read the maker’s own published figures. For electronics we take the recycled percentages, repair life and energy data straight from the manufacturer’s environmental report, and for eco stays and tours we verify the real features in person wherever we can.
Because every score is then calculated from that raw data by a single fixed rule, anyone can open the same SKUs and reach the same number. Nothing rests on our opinion. The method is transparent, reproducible and traceable to a named source, so the ranking is one you can check line by line rather than take on trust.
Materials: only 100 percent plant fibre is natural
The rule. Only plant fibre is natural. We list every clothing brand by the percentage of its range that is single fibre plant cloth, read off the label product by product.
- Natural, plant fibre: organic cotton, linen, hemp.
- Not natural, semi synthetic: viscose, rayon, modal, Tencel, lyocell, bamboo. These are chemically processed wood pulp.
- Not natural, animal: wool, silk, cashmere, leather, down.
- Not natural, synthetic: polyester, nylon, elastane, spandex, acrylic.
The score. 100 percent plant fibre is 5 out of 5. 90 to 99 percent is 4, 70 to 89 percent is 3, 40 to 69 percent is 2, and below 40 percent is 1. Only 100 percent earns full marks, so any synthetic content, even a trace of Lycra, keeps a brand off the top.
The exceptions. A few clothing categories cannot be made from plant fibre, so we do not give them a plant fibre score at all. Swimwear and wetsuits need the stretch and water resistance that only synthetics provide, so no swimwear is genuinely sustainable. We still list the best available option, such as wetsuits made from Yulex natural rubber instead of petroleum neoprene, but we show these without a ranking and say plainly why. Listing the least harmful choice in a category that has no natural answer is more honest than pretending a 5 out of 5 exists where it cannot.
Chocolate: bean to bar and 100 percent slave free
The rule. We list only bean to bar chocolate with 100 percent traceable, slave free cocoa.
- Qualifies: made from the bean itself, direct trade with named farms, a supply chain shown to be free of slave and child labour, and open about where the cocoa is grown and how growers are paid.
- Fails: chocolate remelted from bought couverture, or any brand that cannot trace its cocoa and hides its sourcing behind a certification logo.
- We do not list brands that sell chocolate with milk.
Bath and body: 100 percent raw, not merely naturally derived
The rule. We list only 100 percent raw, whole plant, vegan ingredients. We reject naturally derived lab isolates, even from brands with excellent ethics. The test is not how good the company is, it is whether the ingredient is raw or processed.
Naturally derived isolates that fail: industrial citric acid (fermented from mould as a pH buffer), tocopherol (refined Vitamin E, added for shelf life), glyceryl stearate and alcohol (emulsifiers that bind water and oil), ethoxylated surfactants such as ammonium laureth sulfate (synthetic foam), and nature identical preservatives such as sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Animal by products such as lanolin and beeswax also fail our vegan rule.
Popular brands rejected here, by composition:
| Brand | What it fails on |
|---|---|
| Dr. Bronner’s | Industrial citric acid (mould fermented pH buffer) and tocopherol (refined Vitamin E isolate for shelf life). |
| Weleda | Glyceryl stearate and alcohol emulsions, plus lanolin and beeswax, which are animal and not vegan. |
| Faith in Nature | Ethoxylated surfactants such as ammonium laureth sulfate, and lab synthesised preservatives (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate). |
What clears the standard: raw, whole plant, vegan bars. Friendly Soap (cold process, saponified plant oils, no SLS, no synthetic foam booster), Aleppo (olive and laurel oil, nothing else), and Salt of the Earth and Akoma (whole plant butters and oils).
Food: whole food, plant based and organic
The rule. The Throne Standard for food is three words: whole food, plant based, organic. A product has to clear all three, and this applies to everything edible we list, from legumes and grains to bean to bar chocolate.
- Whole food: kept as close to its natural state as possible, with no refined isolates and no additives, preservatives, flavourings or synthetic fortification. The same raw over processed line we hold in bath and body applies to food.
- Plant based: no animal products at all. We do not list dairy or milk, meat, eggs or honey, in chocolate or anywhere else, because of the emissions, the animal welfare record and the health questions that follow those industries.
- Organic: certified organic (EU Organic, Soil Association or USDA Organic), which means no glyphosate sprayed as a pre harvest desiccant and no synthetic pesticides or fertilisers.
Qualifies: a certified organic, single ingredient or minimally processed plant food, grown with no chemicals and traceable to the farm it came from. Fails: conventional crops dried with a glyphosate spray, anything carrying additives, preservatives or fortification, and any product containing dairy or other animal ingredients.
Electronics: recycled, repairable and low waste
The rule. We list electronics by how much of the device is genuinely recycled and repairable, and how little of it is wasted. A device reaches the top only when it meets all of the following:
- a high share of recycled content in its metals and plastics (aluminium, cobalt, copper, steel, tin and rare earths);
- a long repair and software support life, so it is not thrown away early;
- plastic free or fully recycled packaging;
- real energy efficiency; and
- a published, traceable environmental report to back every claim.
Fails, or ranks low: sealed devices that cannot be repaired, virgin plastic and mixed materials that cannot be recycled, short software support, and vague carbon claims with no published data. The recycled percentages and the repair life decide the ranking, not the word green.
Phone cases: 100 percent biodegradable, never plastic
The rule. A phone case qualifies only when it is 100 percent biodegradable or compostable and made from plants, not plastic.
- Qualifies: cases made from plant fibre, FSC certified wood, agricultural by products or genuine bioplastics that break down, with plastic free packaging and, ideally, a take back scheme.
- Fails: TPU, silicone and polycarbonate cases, and part plastic cases sold as eco because they blend in a little plant material. A case that will outlast the phone by centuries in landfill does not belong on the list.
Eco stays: 5 out of 5 for 10 or more eco features
The rule. Eco stays are scored from 1 to 5 against a checklist of 16 real sustainability features: whether the stay is off grid, its energy type and source, how it manages water, whether it grows its own food, its plastic policy, its conservation and preservation work, the materials it is built from, its certifications such as Green Key and Green Globe, and its eco amenities.
The score. A stay that clearly shows 10 or more of the 16 features scores 5 out of 5. Eight to nine features is 4, seven is 3, six is 2, and five or fewer is 1. Ownership is not counted, so a stay cannot score well just for being independent. It has to show the actual features, and we verify them in person where we can.
Tours: locally owned, low impact and conservation first
The rule. We list only low impact tours that keep their money and their care local. A tour qualifies when it is:
- locally owned or community run, and led by local guides;
- built around conservation, wildlife or heritage rather than disturbance;
- kept to small groups; and
- run plastic free, with real waste and water management.
Fails: large operators that extract value from a place, animal attractions built on captivity, and high volume trips with no environmental care. A good tour leaves the place and its people better off, and we always say who owns it and why it qualifies.