Countries of the world

This page is for accumulating country information of specific usefullness for Consumerium Services. Also this page serves the purpose of forming a Country template for use in Content Wiki once we figure out what information can be reliably collected.

See w:List of countries for general information on countries of the world.

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Here be the current skeleton

• Workers' rights - The right to belong to labor unions de jure? (in law or in theory), de facto? (in practice, day-to-day custom)
• Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES/NO/Not determined
• Ecological integrity and damage, e.g. charcoal deforestation in Haiti, tantallum deforestation and ape extinction in Congo and Indonesia
• ...

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Resources

Internal

Lists of shared and alternative transport and traveler routers

Lists of review aggregators and review sites

Lists of price comparison services

Lists of alternative financial services

List of free education

Countries of the world is where the local information relevant to Consumerium goals is gathered

and much more in the Consumerium list of lists

External

• Embassypages.com - contact information for embassies and consulates of the world
• Overseas registries at gov.uk

Africa

• https://www.fairtradeafrica.net/

Kenya

• Fairtrade Organization of Kenya: FTOK

Mauritania

w:Mauritania has the highest prevalence of w:slavery in the world despite passing an anti-slavery law in 2007 after sizable international pressure. Read more in w:Slavery in Mauritania.

South Africa

• Fairtrade organisation: Fairtrade South Africa

Asia

Australia

• http://www.choice.com.au/ - Australia's oldest consumer empowerment effort
• http://guide.ethical.org.au - An ethical consumer guide and more
• http://ethicalconsumer.org.au/ - Ethical Consumers Australia (ECA) nonprofit association has various functions and projects. They have made The Good on You App which is available for Android and iOS for the clothing shopping consumer.
• http://www.ethicalliving.net.au/ Providing ethically sourced ethnical handicrafted via webshop with principles of fair trade.
• http://www.sustainabilityportal.net/ an australian platform for ethical fashion & textiles. A resource for industry and consumers alike.

Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES

• http://www.search.asic.gov.au/gns001.html Australian Securities and Investments Commission Limited company search on-line.

China

Workers' rights in China

Trade unions are forbidden by law in China according to the Finnish media.

Hong Kong

• Fairtrade Hong Kong

India

• Fairtrade India

Japan

• "Earth Reforesting System" - not sure if this is going to work, but, at least they started with mediawiki, so maybe they are just waiting for others to chip in, just like Consumerium did. Mostly in Japanese.

New Zealand

• Fairtrade New Zealand

Pakistan

Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES

• http://www.pakboi.gov.pk/html/all_companies.html The Pakistan Board of Investment - Companies, searchable online by name, registered capital, CEO and other options

South Korea

• Fairtrade organisation: Fairtrade South-Korea

Workers' rights in South Korea Apparently the workers' situation in South Korea is terrible. There are reports of trade union activists commiting suicide to attract attention to the workers' rights situation in South Korea. see Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) web site for more information

South Korea has probably the longest workweeks in all the developed world with 6-day weeks with 44 hours average working time. There have been rumours that South Korea will be switching to 5-day working week in 2005 but there is yet no confirmation on whether this is true.

Turkmenistan

w:Turkmenistan has a sizeable w:forced labour problem in their w:cotton industry.

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Europe

• w:European Consumer Centres Network ECC Net at ec.europa.eu

Austria

• Fairtrade organisation: yes
• Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum Österreich at europakonsument.at - Austrian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Belgium

• Fairtrade organisation: http://fairtradebelgium.be/
• Belgian European Consumer Centre at eccbelgium.be - Belgian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Bulgaria

• Bulgarian European Consumer Centre at ecc.bg - Bulgarian chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

Croatia

• Croatian European Consumer Centre at ecc-croatia.hr - Croatian chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

Cyprus

• Cypriot European Consumer Centre at ecccyprus.gov.cy - Cypriot chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

Czech Republic

• Fairtrade in the Czech Republic
• Czech European Consumer Centre at evropskyspotrebitel.cz - Czech chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

Denmark

• Fairtrade organisation Fairtrade Denmark
• Danish European Consumer Centre at forbrugereuropa.dk - Danish chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

• https://zadaa.co/da/ - online 2nd hand marketplace that works via smartphone app

Estonia

• Estonian European Consumer Centre at consumer.ee - Estonian chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes. Fairtrade Estonia
• Traveler router coverage?: Yes. Nation-wide. Multimodal Peatus.ee
• Peer-to-peer carsharing?: Yes. Autolevi (.ee)]

Finland

• Inventions: w:Sauna, w:AIV fodder, w:Molotov cocktail, w:IRC, GNU/w:Linux, w:SSH and w:Git
• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes. http://www.reilukauppa.fi/
• Traveler router coverage? Yes. Nation-wide. Multimodal opas.matka.fi plus more at traficom.fi. See also Lists of shared and alternative transport and traveler routers#Multi-modal and local journey planners in Finland
• Carpooling services?: Yes. list
• w:Peer-to-peer carsharing?: Yes. https://www.shareitbloxcar.fi/
• Carsharing service coverage?: peer-to-peer and traditional carsharing exist in the Metropolitan Helsinki area list

Registered companies searchable in Internet? Yes

• YTJ.fi w:YTJ (Finnish government service) (Business Information Service) jointly by the Finnish Patent and Registration office (w:fi:Patentti- ja rekisterihallitus) and the w:Finnish Tax Administration. Online company searches available for free. The Virre Information Service at virre.prh.fi is a place where you can buy further details.
• Publication of Oiva control results at oivahymy.fi by the Finnish Food Authority - The Oiva report provides the consumers access to the control results of food industry companies as the food control authorities perform their inspections.

Law online

• Finlex Data Bank at finlex.fi - Finlex is an online database of up-to-date legislative and other judicial information of Finland
• Semantic Finlex at data.finlex.fi - law and justice as open linked data

Consumer empowerment and activism efforts in Finland

• Pro Ethical Trade Finland (Eetti ry) eetti.fi
• http://kulutusjuhla.fi/ ( Consumption Celebration ) which inherited the now defunct Consumer Gadget association's funds
• https://430.fi/ is a campaign by Finnwatch (.org) to stop 430 million euros being lost to tax dodging in Finland. The #430miljoonaa campaign was launched in November 2019.
• w:fi:Suomen ammattiliittojen solidaarisuuskeskus SASK 'Eettinen kuluttaminen' at sask.fi

Help for consumers in Finland

• Euroopan kuluttajakeskus Suomessa (ECC) at ecc.fi (w:European Consumer Centres Network)
• https://reklamaatioapuri.fi/ is a service by The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority to help you file for reclamation

Finnish labels

• sinivalkoinenvalinta.suomalainentyo.fi by The Association for Finnish Work here you can discover companies with one or more of the following labels

• w:fi:Avainlippu (Made in Finland)
• w:fi:Yhteiskunnallinen yritys -merkki (social enterprise)
• w:fi:Design from Finland -merkki

• 'Tietoturvamerkki' cybersecurity label managed by fi:Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto (Traficom.fi) was launched in late 2019. More info on the cybersecurity label at traficom.fi

Be vegan in Finland

• http://www.vegaanituotteet.net is a comprehensive directory to vegan products sold in Finland

Buy local in Finland

• https://www.prolocalis.com/ is a mobile and web app for discovering local small and micro enterprises around you in Finland.

Reducing, reusing and recycling in Finland

Getting used things to someone that needs them in Finland

• https://store.emmy.fi/ - online webshop for selling and buying 2nd hand clothes.
• https://kiertonet.fi/ - an auction place intended for the public sector
• https://rekki.fi/ - buy and sell brand-name 2nd hand clothes
• https://tise.com/ - buy and sell 2nd hand clothes, a web and mobile apps by Tise AS. Also available in a few other countries
• https://www.tori.fi/ - an online marketplace that can be used via web or smartphone app.
• https://vahankaytetty.fi/ - online 2nd hand market. If you want to sell items (mostly clothing) you can send them to vahankaytetty.fi and they take care of selling and mailing the products to the buyers.
• https://zadaa.co/ - a Finnish online 2nd hand marketplace that works via smartphone app. Also in Denmark and Germany.
• Mjukhome.com is a 2nd hand marketplace for (designer) interior items

Sharing economy in Finland

• Lace&Rose is a clothes loaning service in Hyvinkää
• Mallaamo - is a clothes loaning service in Oulu
• UPCYCLER Helsinki offers ethical 1st hand and 2nd hand collections of clothing and also operates a Upcycler clothes loaning service
• Vaatelainaamo Noppa (website under construction as of Nov 2019) is a clothes loaning service in Kuopio
• Vaatelainaamo Tanttu is a clothes loaning service in Seinäjoki
• Vaatepuu is a clothes loaning service, that has been operating since 2013. It has locations in Helsinki, Järvenpää, Tampere, Jyväskylä and Turku.
• Vaaterekki is a clothes and jewelry loaning service in Helsinki

Recycle in Finland

• https://www.kierratys.info/ a recycling point locator for all of Finland
• https://www.kiitoskunlajittelet.fi/ - instructions for sorting recyclables
• https://www.facebook.com/KierratysbottiKikka/ - a chatbot in Facebook that helps you determine how to recycle things

Information about Finland

• Linked Data Finland at ldf.fi # datasets at ldf.fi # schemas at ldf.fi
• Finnish Geographic Names dataset at ldf.fi

Billing services in Finland (for individuals)

• 4eze.works by 4works Oy: Lite-laskutuspalvelu for individuals with under 15 000€ billing / year, Basic-palvelu and Plus-laskutuspalvelu for billing with a sole proprietorship Commission: 2,8-3,9%. The company was founded in Helsinki in Dec 2018. Free marketplace, Commission: 2,0 – 3,6 % and includes operational liability insurance

• e-tunnus.fi by Suomen e-tunnus Oy. The company was founded in Tampere in June 2013. Affiliated with Visma and uses their services and has C/O address at Visma Services. Commission unknown.

• Finjob.fi by Finjob Oy. Founded in Kuopio in May 2017. Commission 3,23 %

• Floy.fi by FLOY OY. Founded in Espoo in May 2016 Commission 4,0%

• Free.fi by FREE-Laskutus Oy. Founded in Helsinki July 2016. Services: FREE kevytyrittäjyys (billing without a company), FREE toiminimiyrittäjyys (billing with a sole proprietorship, freetalent.fi (marketplace for connecting workers to customers and vice versa), freeakatemia.fi (in Finnish) where you can learn the ropes of light-entrepreneurship. Commission 4,0 % + additional 2,5 % fee

• Kassavirtanen.fi by Kassavirtanen Oy. Founded in Helsinki January 2017. Commission 3,0%

• Keikkalasku.fi by Parage Oy (under auxiliary business name Suomen Keikkalasku Oy) contains salary simulator. Founded in Helsinki in February 2018. No commisssion. Price based on 5€ or 10€ fee per billing.

• kevytyrittajat.eezy.fi Finnish Wikipedia on Eezy Kevytyrittäjät, aiemmin Eezy, on suomalainen w:fi:osuuskunta ja osa Eezy-konsernia. Eezy perustettiin vuonna 2008 ja se oli Suomen ensimmäinen laskutuspalvelu. Finnish Wikipedia on Eezy Oyj (vuoteen 2019 asti VMP-konserni, VMP Oyj ja VMP Group) on suomalainen henkilöstöpalvelualan yritys, joka tarjoaa erilaisia henkilöstöalan palveluita. Commission 5-7%, no hidden fees. Insurances included.

• Laskuttamo.com by Laskuttamo Oy, founded in Vantaa in September 2020. Commission 3-4%

• Odeal.fi by Odeal Oy. Founded in Helsinki in June 2006. Commission 2-5%

• Omapaja.fi by Omapaja Oy. Founded in Oulu in April 2011.. Seems to be part of a bigger group of companies. Probably owned by Omapaja Holding Oy in Oulu. Commission 5-7%

• op-kevytyrittaja.fi - Finnish Wikipedia on OP (finanssiryhmä) kevytyrittäjyyspalvelu Commission 5%

• Pooli.fi by Laskutuspalvelu Pooli Oy. Founded in February 2020. Commission 5% + additional service fee 2,8% and social security insurancefee 1,53%

• Talenom.fi kevytyrittäjä by Talenom Oyj or one of the many companies in the group. Talenom Oyj was registered in Oulu (?) in June 2013. Talenom Kevytyrittäjä Android app and Talenom Kevytyrittäj‪ä iOS app Commission 2%

• Toimipiste.fi by Taitajien Toimipiste Oy, founded in Turku in June 2016.. Probably owned by Toimipiste Holding Oy founded in Turku in June 2017. Commission 5%

• Truster.fi by Truster Works Oy, founded in Espoo in June 2020. Web app Truster Works light entrepreneurship Android app and Truster Works kevytyrittäj‪ä iOS app Commission unknown

• Ukko.fi UKKO Kevytyrittäjyys – kattavin kokonaispalvelu kevytyrittäjälle - UKKO Toiminimiyrittäjyys - Yritä oikein. Oikeasti. - Keskity siihen mitä osaat parhaiten. Jätä toiminimen kirjanpito meidän huoleksemme. UKKO.fi 2019 Kevytyrittäjyysopas. Finnish Wikipedia on UKKO.fi Commission 5% + additional fee 2,9%

• Uuras.fi kevytyrittäjäpalvelu by Suomen GTM Osuuskunta. Suomen GTM Osuuskunta was founded in Helsinki in July 2018. Auxiliary business name Kevytyrittäjäpalvelu Uuras registered in October 2020. Commission 4% + aditional fee 2,5% which which includes health insurance, operational liability insurance and occupational accident insurance.

Tutorials and comparisons of billing services for individuals

• https://vakuudeton.com/kevytyrittajyys/
• https://yrityksen-perustaminen.net/kevytyrittajyys/
• https://www.rahakone.fi/paras-laskutuspalvelu/
• https://omapaja.fi/blogi/laskutuspalvelut-vertailussa/ (obs: this is one of the contenders)

• https://uusityo.fi/ is the industry trade association of the billing services providers that claims that its members comprise 95% of the revenua in the industry

Wikipedia articles about things in Finland

• w:fi:Luokka:Kuluttajansuoja
• Public transport in Helsinki

Employment agencies in Finland

• Wellpack.fi by Wellpack Oy. Founded in Helsinki in May 2013. Services: Henkilöstövuokrauspalvelut Personnel hire services, Rekrytointipalvelut Recruitment and staffing services.

France

• French European Consumer Centre at europe-consommateurs.eu - French chapter of the w:European Consumer Centres Network
• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes. http://www.maxhavelaarfrance.org/
• Mutuelle Ociane Matmut : Le groupe Mutualia voit le jour en 1990. Cet organisme mutualiste a été fondé par la MSA (Mutuelle Sociale Agricole) dans le but d’offrir aux acteurs du secteur agricole une meilleure protection sociale complémentaire. https://annuaire-mutuelles.fr/ile-de-france/paris/mutuelle-ociane-matmut-75012

Germany

Inventions: Printing press, intermodal public transport route planner

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes. http://www.fairtrade-deutschland.de/index.php
• European Consumer Centre Germany at evz.de - German chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

• https://zadaa.co/de/ - online 2nd hand marketplace that works via smartphone app

Greece

• European Consumer Centre Greece at eccgreece.gr - Greek chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Hungary

• European Consumer Centre Hungary at fogyasztovedelem.kormany.hu - Hungarian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Iceland

• European Consumer Centre Iceland at eccisland.is - Icelandic chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Ireland

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes. Fairtrade Ireland
• European Consumer Centre Ireland at eccireland.ie - Irelandic chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES

• http://www.cro.ie/search/ - Companies Registration Office of Ireland - Limited online search of companies

Italy

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: http://www.fairtradeitalia.it/

• European Consumer Centre Italy at ecc-netitalia.it - Italian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Latvia

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: The use of the Fairtrade emblem in Latvia is overseen by Fairtrade Finland

• European Consumer Centre Latvia at ecclatvia.lv - Latvian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Lithuania

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: Fairtrade Lithuania
• Minciu Sodas open laboratory for serving and organizing independent thinkers

• European Consumer Centre Lithuania at ecc.lt - Lithuanian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Luxembourg

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: http://www.transfair.lu/

• European Consumer Centre Luxembourg at cecluxembourg.lu - Luxembourgian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Malta

• European Consumer Centre Malta at eccnetmalta.gov.mt - Maltese chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Netherlands

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: http://maxhavelaar.nl/

Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES

• Dutch: www.kvk.nl, English: www.kvk.nl - Kamer van Koophandel
• European Consumer Centre Netherlands at eccnederland.nl - Dutch chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Norway

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.: http://www.fairtrade.no/

• European Consumer Centre Norway at forbrukereuropa.no - Norwegian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Poland

• European Consumer Centre Poland at konsument.gov.pl - Polish chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Portugal

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:Fairtrade Portugal

• European Consumer Centre Portugal at cec.consumidor.pt - Portuguese chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Romania

• European Consumer Centre Romania at eccromania.ro - Romanian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Slovakia

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:Fairtrade Slovakia

• European Consumer Centre Slovakia at esc-sr.sk - Slovakian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Slovenia

• European Consumer Centre Slovenia at epc.si - Slovenian chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Spain

• European Consumer Centre Spain at cec.consumo.gob.es - Spanish chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

Sweden

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:Fairtrade organisation: http://www.raettvist.se/

Registered companies searchable in Internet? YES

• http://www.prv.se/eng/ Swedish Patent and Registration Office covers Companies, Trademarks, Patents and People. Limited online company and trademark searches available for free

• European Consumer Centre Sweden at konsumenteuropa.se - Swedish chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

• Mjukhome.com is a 2nd hand marketplace for (designer) interior items

Switzerland

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:Fairtrade organisation: http://www.maxhavelaar.ch

United Kingdom

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:The Fairtrade Foundation

• UK European Consumer Centre at ukecc.net - UK chapter of w:European Consumer Centres Network

• The Directory by the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at fundraisingregulator.org.uk

Recycling in the UK

• The UK does not currently have a deposit and reverse vending systems for beverage containers, but this could change in the future according to this BBC.com article 'UK 'could adopt' Norway bottle recycling system'

North and Middle America

Canada

• http://www.ecocentricguide.ca/ blogging and marketing about all things ecolo. webshop plus physical outlets via cooperating businesses.
• http://www.ethicaldirectory.ca/ - Green & Ethical Businesses == Good Business

Registered companies searchable in Internet? Not determined

Haiti

Registered companies searchable in Internet? Not determined, highly unlikely

Ecological questions

• Deforestation problem from charcoal production

USA

• Fairtrade organisation: http://www.fairtradeusa.org/
• http://www.goodguide.com/- Ethical shopping guide webgui and app give a 0 to 10 scale rating for for health, environment, and social impact. App only for iOS. That ain't very ethical towards Android OS users.

• Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER.org) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts and is provided by the Federal Judiciary. If a PACER user quarterly usage is $30 or less, the bill will be waived.

• https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ - The Open Payments Search Tool is used to search payments made by drug and medical device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals.

• National Retail Federation / Association for Retail Technology Standards - Their XML schema covers the following issues: Item & Price Maintenance - Merchandise Flow Management - Inventory Management - Tender Control - Adminstration - Reporting - Ordering - Workforce Management - Customer Relationship Management

Reusing services in the USA

• The RealReal (.com) is an online and brick-and-mortar marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment.

South America

Argentina

• https://ecomo.com.ar/ - a commercial site that offers help on how to manage issues digitally in Argentina

Brazil

• Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International member?: Yes.:Fairtrade Brasil

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