Content & voice

Voice attributes#

| Attribute | What it means | What it doesn't mean | | --- | --- | --- | | Clear | Direct, plain language, no jargon. | Not dumbed-down or patronizing. | | Honest | States what's verified and what isn't; admits limitations. | Not falsely modest or self-deprecating. | | Warm | Approachable, human, encouraging. | Not cute, quirky, or trying too hard. | | Confident | Knows what it is and doesn't apologize for it. | Not arrogant, preachy, or self-righteous. | | Practical | Focused on utility and action. | Not philosophical or lecture-y in the UI. |

Words we use#

• Find, not “Shop”. We're a directory; users find things.
• Buy direct, not “Purchase” or “Add to cart”. We don't own the cart.
• Brand, not “Partner” or “Vendor”. The brand is the entity the user cares about.
• Workshop, not “Factory” when scale is small. “Manufacturer” for operations over ~20 people.
• Family-owned, Worker-owned, Cooperative, Independent — precise ownership language.
• Verified (T2 or T3), Audited (T3 only), Self-reported (T1). Never mix.
• That's on us when something fails on our end. Plain ownership.

Words we avoid#

• Ethical as a lead word. It's a judgment, not a claim. Let the verification tiers speak.
• Conscious, mindful, sustainable as a lead. They're overused and under-defined.
• Guilt-free, clean conscience, feel good about… — we don't sell absolution.
• Artisan as a marketing word. Use workshop, maker, or the actual method (e.g. “hand-finished”).
• Disrupting, revolutionizing, transforming. We're not in that line of work.
• Storied, handcrafted with love, small-batch. If it's small, say the number.

Button labels#

• Sentence case. “Buy direct”, not “Buy Direct” or “BUY DIRECT”.
• Verb first. “Save changes”, not “Changes” or “Save this”.
• 1–3 words. If you need four, the button is probably wrong.
• No emojis. Including sparkles, checks, or arrows-that-are-emojis.

Empty-state copy#

• Heading names what's missing. “No matches for ‘organik kotton’”.
• Paragraph gives one reason and one way forward. Not two. Not a manifesto.
• Button is the way out. “Clear filters”, “Try ‘organic cotton’”, “Submit a brand”.

Error copy#

• Tell me what broke, not that something broke. “We couldn't reach the search index”, not “An error occurred”.
• Tell me what I can do. Retry, report, go somewhere else. Always at least one.
• Never blame the user for our bugs. If it's our fault, say “That's on us”.

Quick reference#

| Bad | Better | | --- | --- | | “Sorry, no results found.” | “No matches for ‘organik kotton’. Try ‘organic cotton’.” | | “Purchase now” | “Buy direct” | | “Shop ethical, sustainable, guilt-free goods” | “Find things built to last, from brands that tell you how they're made.” | | “An error occurred” | “We couldn't reach the search index. Try again?” | | “Oops! Something went wrong 😬” | “That's on us.” |