In every Google search, I find ten more Web sites that prove to me that green is in and repurposing is all the rage. So I’m making a pledge: from this day forward, I’m going to use my conscience as my guide and my mouse as my means, and will only shop at these sites, where green is good lovin’ for Mother Earth.
Gaiam
Gaiam, the granddaddy of environmental merchandise, started in Boulder, Colorado in 1988 when “green” was still just a color. It walked uphill both ways to get its lot of goods out into the marketplace, and combines house wares and apparel with its never-ending line of yoga gear and wellness DVDs.
CafePresse
I prefer bags that that send a statement (like my World Food Programme Feed Bag). With CafePresse bags, I educate others at the grocery with facts like, “twelve million barrels of oil go to producing plastic bags each year,” while I search for the greenest bunch of broccoli.
Saffron Rouge
Tripping the world for the best organic beauty products—now that’s a reality show I’d sit and watch … or star in! That’s what Saffron Rouge does to find their mineral make-up, organic baby products, and skin care lines with raw and natural ingredients. Dr. Saulius Anthony Alkaitis’ line of skin care says, “If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin,” and the site offers 150 free samples to choose from before checkout, because gratuitous gifts make for the best shopping.
Etsy
At Etsy, I think globally and shop locally. I type in my city to view handmade items local artists want to sell, or I can search items by clicking on a color wheel, use their gift guides, or “pounce” on items leftover from artist sales. Etsy empowers me in every purchase, explaining that when I “purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter, [I] strike a small blow to the forces of mass production.”
White Apricot
White Apricot cast a net, found all the green individuals and companies designing goods on the planet, and displays the best for me. Organized by Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle, the site introduced a biodegradable umbrella that made me homesick for monsoon afternoons in Bangkok. They even offer coupons good for purchases through any of their Lifestyle retailers.
Ecoist
Ecoist is where I’m sending my anti-green, egoist friends. Handbags, belts, and accessories made from candy wrappers and billboards, necklaces designed with recycled glass beads, and repurposed vinyl records that tell time, all of them make me dig this green movement thing!
GreatGreenGoods
You can shop on this blog, so I’m calling it a “shblog.” While I don’t need much, I do want the Snuffalufagus ottoman made of 100 percent recycled materials by Design Within Reach. They carry gifts for pets, baby, travel, as well as shoes, gadgets, and even help create eco-friendly weddings, which may be the only kind of wedding I’ll attend unless of course it’s an exotic destination wedding.
Rawganique
I still believe hemp will take over the world, and at Rawganique, it very well could be. Hemp shower curtains, hemp belts, and hemp “cheeky shorts” underwear, oh, my! Not to mention the foodstuffs I can try after my month-long cleanse, Raqganique might help me go raw, after all.
The Green Store
The online store sells green toys and games, to gardening and composting products, to green stationary and fair trade gifts. If the online experience isn’t your style, then pop in to their actual store in Maine where everything lives. You can walk their creaky wood floors and remember how it used to be while supporting local business.
GreaterGood
My grandmother always said to “do the nearest right thing,” and GreaterGood does just that. The site is the gateway to a series of sites that give back every time you shop. So when you buy that recycled silk scarf on TheChildHealthSite, not only are you buying green, but a portion of the proceeds goes to the partnering charities that help bring health care to vulnerable children in the world.
