Terms

1. About SGA’s WiseGardening – Protecting You and the Planet

1.1. WiseGardening provides access to an independent database of over 800 chemical garden products available in Australia for Australian gardeners to review each product’s safety for people, and for beneficial insects, birds, aquatic life, earthworms, pets and other non-target organisms (the Services).

1.2. Access to and use of WiseGardening and the Services is provided by Sustainable Gardening Australia Inc (ABN 49 895 542 709 (SGA).  Please read these terms and conditions (the Terms), About WiseGardening and WiseGardening Assessment and Rating Process carefully. Using, browsing and/or reading WiseGardening signifies that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the Terms. If you do not agree with the Terms, you must cease usage of WiseGardening and the Services immediately.

1.3. SGA aims to include up to date and accurate information about products, their ingredients, and other information on non-chemical approaches to addressing pest, disease and weed problems. SGA cannot guarantee how effective or safe products are, and to the extent permitted by law and as set out in these Terms, is not responsible or liable for any harm, injury, damage or loss resulting from using any product or alternative non-chemical gardening approach described in WiseGardening.

1.4 SGA’s assessment of products is based on the information provided by the product manufacturers/distributors and publicly available scientific assessment of the ingredients stated to be in the products at the time of our assessment of them. However, product details and scientific estimates of ingredient risks may change from time to time and there may be a delay in making updates to our product assessments. Users should confirm for themselves the suitability of a product for their purposes, especially if the product has been purchased before our assessment of the product as the information provided on or pertaining to such products may differ over time. Likewise, chemicals and ingredients in the products that SGA reviews may change from time to time and you should only use SGA’s assessment at the time of publication.

1.5. When precise information is required, we recommend that you contact the manufacturer of the product directly prior to purchase. Importantly, you should always read the product labels and associated information and follow all safety precautions on products you purchase or use.

1.6. SGA does not endorse any product included in the WiseGardening database, nor does it receive any financial benefit from the sale of any of these products.

1.7. SGA reserves the right to review and change any of the Terms by updating this page at its sole discretion. When SGA updates the Terms, it will use reasonable endeavours to provide you with notice of updates to the Terms. Any changes to the Terms take immediate effect from the date of their publication. Before you continue, we recommend you keep a copy of the Terms for your records.

2. Acceptance of the Terms

You accept these Terms by using WiseGardening and by ticking the box on WiseGardening Overview. You also accept the Terms by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms when this option is made available to you by SGA in the user interface.

3. Your obligations as a User

As a User, you agree that:

(a) you will use WiseGardening and the Services only for purposes that are permitted by:

(i) the Terms; and

(ii) any applicable law, regulation or generally accepted practices or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions;

(b) you will use any product listed in WiseGardening in accordance with any instructions or guide issued by the manufacturer of that product;

(c) you will not use the Services or WiseGardening in connection with any commercial endeavours;

(d) you will not use the Services or Guide for any illegal and/or unauthorised use which includes unauthorised framing of or linking to WiseGardening; and

(e) you acknowledge and agree that any automated use of WiseGardening or its Services is prohibited.

4. Copyright and Intellectual Property

4.1. WiseGardening, the Services and all of the related products of SGA are subject to copyright. The material in WiseGardening is protected by copyright under the laws of Australia and through international treaties. Unless otherwise indicated, all rights (including copyright) in the Services and compilation of WiseGardening (including, but not limited to, text, graphics, logos, button icons, video images, audio clips, codes, scripts, design elements and interactive features) and the Services, are owned or controlled for these purposes, and are reserved by SGA or its contributors.

4.2. All trademarks, service marks and trade names are owned, registered and/or licensed by SGA, who grants to you a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable license whilst you are a User to:

(a) use WiseGardening pursuant to the Terms;

(b) copy and store WiseGardening and the material contained in WiseGardening in your device’s cache memory; and

(c) print pages from WiseGardening for your own personal and non-commercial use.

SGA does not grant you any other rights whatsoever in relation to WiseGardening or the Services. All other rights are expressly reserved by SGA.

4.3. SGA retains all rights, title and interest in and to WiseGardening and all related Services. Nothing you do on or in relation to WiseGardening will transfer any:

(a) business name, trading name, domain name, trademark, industrial design, patent, registered design or copyright, or
(b) a right to use or exploit a business name, trading name, domain name, trademark or industrial design, or

(c) a thing, system or process that is the subject of a patent, registered design or copyright (or an adaptation or modification of such a thing, system or process), to you.

4.4. You may not, without the prior written permission of SGA and the permission of any other relevant rights owners, broadcast, republish, upload to a third party, transmit, post, distribute, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the Services or third-party Services for any purpose, unless otherwise provided by these Terms. You acknowledge and agree that SGA and/or any other relevant rights owners may refuse that permission in their absolute discretion. This prohibition does not extend to materials on WiseGardening, which are freely available for re-use or are in the public domain.

5. Privacy

SGA takes your privacy seriously and any information provided through your use of WiseGardening and/or Services are subject to SGA’s Privacy Policy, which is available on the SGA website, .

6. General Disclaimer

6.1. Nothing in the Terms limits or excludes any guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions implied or imposed by law, including the Australian Consumer Law (or any liability under them) which by law may not be limited or excluded.

6.2. Subject to this clause, and to the extent permitted by law:

(a) all terms, guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions which are not expressly stated in the Terms are excluded; and

(b) SGA will not be liable for any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage (unless such loss or damage is reasonably foreseeable resulting from our failure to meet an applicable Consumer Guarantee), loss of profit or opportunity, or damage to goodwill arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms (including as a result of not being able to use the Services or the late supply of the Services), whether at common law, under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, pursuant to statute or otherwise.

6.3. Use of WiseGardening and the Services is at your own risk. Everything on WiseGardening and the Services is provided to you “as is” and “as available” without warranty or condition of any kind. None of the affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contributors and licensors of SGA make any express or implied representation or warranty about the Services or any products or Services (including the products or Services of SGA) referred to in WiseGardening, including (but is not restricted to) any loss or damage you might suffer as a result of any of the following:

(a) failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, failure to correct defects, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or other harmful component, loss of data, communication line failure, unlawful third-party conduct, theft, destruction, alteration or unauthorised access to records;

(b) the accuracy, suitability or currency of any information on WiseGardening, the Services, or any of its Services related products (including third party material and advertisements on WiseGardening);

(c) costs incurred as a result of you using WiseGardening, the Services or any of the products of SGA; and

(d) the Services or operation in respect to links which are provided for your convenience.

7. Limitation of liability

7.1. SGA’s total liability arising out of or in connection with WiseGardening and the Services or these Terms, however arising, including under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, under statute or otherwise, will not exceed the resupply of the Services to you.

7.2. You expressly understand and agree that SGA, its affiliates, employees, agents, contributors and licensors shall not be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages which may be incurred by you, however caused and under any theory of liability. This shall include, but is not limited to, any loss of profit (whether incurred directly or indirectly), any loss of goodwill or business reputation and any other intangible loss.

8. Termination of Contract

8.1. The Terms will continue to apply until terminated by either you or by SGA as set out below.

8.2. If you want to terminate the Terms, you may do so by:

(a) [if there is a subscription period] not renewing the Subscription prior to the end of the Subscription Period;

(b) providing SGA with 14 days’ notice of your intention to terminate; and

(c) closing your accounts for all of the services which you use, where SGA has made this option available to you.

Your notice should be sent, in writing, to SGA via the ‘Contact Us’ link on our homepage.

8.3. SGA may at any time, terminate the Terms with you if:

(a) you do not renew the Subscription at the end of the Subscription Period;

(b) you have breached any provision of the Terms or intend to breach any provision;

(c) SGA is required to do so by law;

(d) the provision of the Services to you by SGA is, in the opinion of SGA, no longer commercially viable.

8.4. Subject to local applicable laws, SGA reserves the right to discontinue or cancel your membership at any time and may suspend or deny, in its sole discretion, your access to all or any portion of WiseGardening or the Services without notice if you breach any provision of the Terms or any applicable law or if your conduct impacts SGA’s name or reputation or violates the rights of those of another party.

9. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify SGA, its affiliates, employees, agents, contributors, third party content providers and licensors from and against:

(a) all actions, suits, claims, demands, liabilities, costs, expenses, loss and damage (including legal fees on a full indemnity basis) incurred, suffered or arising out of or in connection with use of WiseGardening;

(b) any direct or indirect consequences of you accessing, using or transacting on WiseGardening or attempts to do so; and/or

(c) any breach of the Terms or reliance upon them.

10. Dispute Resolution

10.1. Compulsory: If a dispute arises out of or relates to the Terms, neither party may commence any Tribunal or Court proceedings in relation to the dispute, unless the following clauses have been complied with (except where urgent interlocutory relief is sought).

10.2. Notice: A party to the Terms claiming a dispute (Dispute) has arisen under the Terms, must give written notice to the other party detailing the nature of the dispute, the desired outcome and the action required to settle the Dispute.

10.3. Resolution: On receipt of that notice (Notice) by that other party, the parties to the Terms (Parties) must:

(a) Within 14 days of the Notice endeavour in good faith to resolve the Dispute expeditiously by negotiation or such other means upon which they may mutually agree;

(b) If for any reason whatsoever, 14 days after the date of the Notice, the Dispute has not been resolved, the Parties must either agree upon selection of a mediator or request that an appropriate mediator be appointed by the President of the 1 or his or her nominee;

(c) The Parties are equally liable for the fees and reasonable expenses of a mediator and the cost of the venue of the mediation and without limiting the foregoing undertake to pay any amounts requested by the mediator as a pre-condition to the mediation commencing. The Parties must each pay their own costs associated with the mediation;

(d) The mediation will be held in Melbourne, Australia.

10.4. Confidential: All communications concerning negotiations made by the Parties arising out of and in connection with this dispute resolution clause are confidential and to the extent possible, must be treated as “without prejudice” negotiations for the purpose of applicable laws of evidence.

10.5. Termination of Mediation: If 2 months have elapsed after the start of a mediation of the Dispute and the Dispute has not been resolved, either Party may ask the mediator to terminate the mediation and the mediator must do so.

11. Venue and Jurisdiction

WiseGardening is intended to be viewed and used by residents of Australia. In the event of any dispute arising out of or in relation to WiseGardening, you agree that the exclusive venue for resolving any dispute shall be in the courts of Victoria, Australia.

12. Governing Law

The Terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Any dispute, controversy, proceeding or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the Terms and the rights created hereby shall be governed, interpreted and construed by, under and pursuant to the laws of Victoria, Australia, without reference to conflict of law principles, notwithstanding mandatory rules. The validity of this governing law clause is not contested. The Terms shall be binding to the benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns.

13. Severance

If any part of these Terms is found to be void or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction, that part shall be severed and, the rest of the Terms shall remain in force.

Choices to Protect You and the Planet

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Symbol Guide

Risks to Species

H = Human
A = Other Mammals
B = Bees
C = Worms
D = Birds
E = Fish
G = Other Aquatic Organisms
F = Frogs

Other Characteristics

M = Mobile in soil
P = Persistent
S = Carcinogen, Endocrine Disruptor or Genotoxic
Z = Poison S7
= No information available for identified ingredients
O = No assessible ingredients listed
! = Discontinued product
? = Under further investigation

Solid symbols = high risk
Open symbols = moderate risk
No symbol = no or low risk

Desirable Characteristics

W = Biological control
Y = Better Choices: WiseGardening options

How to use

WiseGardening gives star ratings to garden chemical products on a scale of 0 to 6 Stars where 6 stars are given to those with lowest risks.   Ratings are based on their risks to human health, bees, birds, frogs, pets, earthworms, fish, other aquatic species, soil mobility and persistence.

Data on products and ingredients used to create WiseGardening are the scientifically estimated and publicly reported risks to the health of humans and a range of other living organisms.  Also included are risks from important chemical properties.  For details of how ratings are derived see Our Assessment and Rating Process

Remember: these risks are very important if products are used unwisely.  Always use products strictly according to manufacturers’ instructions on labels and associated documentation.

Notes on Using WiseGardening

WiseGardening is sortable using the Search and Filter boxes.  The Search function can show information not visible on this page e.g. particular susceptible pests.  For some searches a full word such as “fungus” may not find many choices, but the beginning “fung” will show more because many entries might be for “fungicide”. Therefore, for some searches fewer letters may be more effective.

Note that the ingredient risks are based on pure ingredients so the risks are independent of the amount of ingredient in the product.

Some products with high star ratings still show some ingredient risks or other undesirable product characteristics. These products have received a high star rating because aspects of product packaging or being pre-mixed (i.e. not requiring dilution before use, or having robust packaging) reduce the likelihood of spills which could be harmful.

There are a few products which have ingredient risks about which there is conflicting international opinion.  Examples are those containing glyphosate, chlorpyrifos or dicamba.  Because we have only used data which is scientifically widely agreed on, these products may have achieved a higher star rating than some people might expect, especially if their containers and mode of delivery render the likelihood of inadvertent exposure unlikely.