Shopping Green
Dec 3rd, 2009 by April
If you’ve been out or even just online in the past week, you’ll know that the holiday shopping season is upon us. People are searching in malls, department stores and on the web for the perfect gift for their friends and loved ones. It has become a large part of our culture to spend money on countless items each year, despite the fact that we consume more resources than we should at this point.
One way to address this issue without becoming a Scrooge and giving up holiday gift exchanges is to be eco-conscious in our shopping. This means that instead of just purchasing things, you could take some time to check out the companies that make them and make an informed decision. For example, does the manufacturer use organic materials? Do they have a good reputation for respecting the environment (e.g.
not dumping toxic waste)?
In fact, there is a new website out that ranks products and companies this way called The Good Guide. It is in beta so it doesn’t contain a wide selection but it seems like an excellent start and a useful resource.