Although coffee is being evaluated in this example, the criteria and sources listed are useful for evaluating many products.
Possible criteria on which to evaluate your product:
Consumer Reports Magazine
Consumer Reports Buying Guide
Consumer Search Website: This web site collects product reviews from around the web, analyzes them and makes recommendations.
Good Housekeeping Seal "The seal is an emblem of the magazine's Consumer Policy, which promises a refund or replacement for defective products within two years of purchase."
Once a product has earned the Good Housekeeping Seal, and then meets environmental performance requirements, it can earn the Good Housekeeping Green Seal. Reduction of water use & energy efficiency in manufacturing, ingredient and product safety, packaging reduction, and the brand's corporate social responsibility are among the factors considered. ~GH website
Better Business Bureau: You can search the BBB site for a business to find out if it has been rated by the bureau, has had complaints lodged against it, and how those complaints were handled. They also report scams and provide consumer education.
Use these databases to research products, companies & industries. You can also research consumer behavior; think of your target audience, such a college students, and find out what types of shopping interests and behaviors they tend to display. Business Source Premier database has articles from both the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer Behavior.
Looking for Academic Search Premier? Academic Search Complete holds all the same resources plus many more. It is a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.
Fair Trade Issues: "Fair Trade is a comprehensive approach to sustainable development that supports farmers with quality improvement, environmental stewardship, business capacity training, access to credit, and community development funds to help improve lives. "~ Fair Trade USA website
Fair Trade USA Website: "A 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, Fair Trade USA is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. We enable you, the consumer, to make a difference with your dollar."
Fair Trade USA's Coffee Report.http://fairtradeusa.org/products-partners/coffee
World Fair Trade Organization: Membership of the WFTO is limited to organizations that demonstrate a 100% Fair Trade commitment and apply its 10 Principles of Fair Trade. WFTO Members are not just the pioneers of the movement but the innovators of the market. The WFTO has a vision of a world in which trade structures and practices have been transformed to work in favour of the poor and promote sustainable development and justice.
Note: Consumer Reports also covers cars & trucks
Note: Consumer Reports also covers electronics.