Image via Wikipedia
Did you ever wonder who put the lead in your child's Thomas the Tank Engine? Or the melamine in your pet food? Or the antifreeze in your toothpaste? Sourcemap, an MIT open source project uses wiki-oriented volunteers to seek out the ultimate producers of crummy products and find out where the "stuff inside my stuff" comes from.
Sourcemap currently has almost 1500 products in their data base, along with full documentation on the global supply chains associated with each product. The results are fascinating, both from avoiding dangerous products as well as tracing real-world supply chains. The carbon footprint and transportation requirements associated with each product are also presented.
The project is looking to partner with governments and business to expand the data base to include more products. The project wants to include environmentally friendly products as well to aid consumers in their purchases.
Comments