For a girl who spends a lotta time on the internet blogging, I really don’t do much online shopping. Part of it’s because I live by the reduce, reuse enviro-mantra, and part of it’s because I’m all about supporting the local economy — and that means turning off the computer and hitting the farmers’ market or eco-friendly shops near me.
Still, many would-be green shoppers don’t live in an eco-friendly town like I do — and have legitimate needs for good green goods!
Enter thepurplebook green: an eco-friendly online shopping guide. This lil book by Hillary Mendelsohn’s a user-friendly guide to online eco-friendly stores. thepurplebook green begins with some greening advice on everything from eco-burials to bamboo clothing. Then, 400+ store listings — keyed with little helpful symbols denoting fair trade practices, recycled materials, and the like — begin.
Somewhat inconveniently, the listings are arranged alphabetically by URL — though there is a product index in the back to help you out if you’re just looking for shoe stores. And while a little green flower marks the shops that really are eco-committed, thepurplebook green also lists a bunch of big mainstream stores like Amazon, drugstore.com, and — yikes! — Wal-Mart — simply because they do carry a teeny percentage of eco-goods.
Conversely, some great green stores aren’t listed. The eco-fashion-forward stores like Modify don’t make a showing — nor do the very established fair trade and eco-friendly stores at Global Exchange and Ten Thousand Villages.
Still, thepurplebook green provides a good overview of what green goods’re available over the big green web. And Hillary’s heart seems to be in the right place: “18 months ago I sat in a dark theater at the Arclight watching Al Gore and tried to wrap my head around what I could do in my own life to make better choices, and how I could encourage others,” Hillary says. thepurplebook green was her answer.
As far as I know, thepurplebook green — available for $11.95 from Amazon — is the only web-focused eco yellowpages-type book in print. Other green directories include:
>> Co-op Amerca’s National Green Pages — That’s available both in print and on the web, but the listings often include businesses focused just on the local economy, which isn’t terribly helpful if you’re into web shopping.
>> Greenopia — These green local listings are great if you live in LA or San Francisco, but are definitely not geared toward web shoppers, even though some of the local stores listed do have an online presence.
[crossposted on BlogHer]
Nice to see more awareness tools for green business, local and on the web. We have over 1000 web businesses listed on our website, sustainlane.com, where people can find green products and services, and we have another 17k local businesses serving the local green economy (disclaimer: I founded SustainLane). For us too, it’s about awareness. People need to know where they can find green stuff, as so many surveys say the green economy needs to be more convenient for faster mainstream adoption.
By the way, I’ve enjoyed your blog for a long time now, thanks for taking the time to write it!
Always hoping for a greener world,
James
Comment by James Elsen — March 8, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
I could be wrong about this, but when I checked out Nimli, I didn’t find too many items that were actually “green” – more like “cool” but most weren’t made from organic or sustainable materials or even listed as Made in USA or Fairly Traded.
Comment by Hannah — March 10, 2008 @ 11:40 am
That’s actually not uncommon for a lot of web stores that brand them as green — they have much lower standards than, say, BTC Elements!
But thepurplebook green isn’t about listing the greenest companies (see above re: Amazon, Wal-mart, etc.) — It’s sort of supposed to be a more comprehensive listing. Nimli’s clearly greener than Wal-Mart and as you said, does have some green items –
Comment by Siel — March 10, 2008 @ 11:59 am
Thanks for the informative eco-blog. I’m the Director of Marketing for a green printer (pixxlz.com) and it’s been a bit overwhelming trying to figure out which directories are best for us. Will definitely check out the ones you’ve listed.
On a side note; I attended the eco-gift expo in Santa Monica and they had some really great clothing vendors for kids and adults. Sadly, I fell hard for a long hemp hoodie (the hood was REALLY long and pointy…kinda rock ‘n roll) and I didn’t buy it. If anyone remembers that clothing line, I’d love to know what it is! Thanks:) jen
Comment by Jennie — March 10, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
There is a definite need for more “green” consumer and shopping guides to show people the best options they have for being sustainable consumers.
Comment by Cookiemouse — March 11, 2008 @ 11:58 am