We’ve got lots of new ways for you to green your holiday shopping this year, and as usual the members of our Green Business Network are leading the way.
First of all, we’ve joined with Green Business member ShoreBank Pacific (a pioneer in the community banking field) to offer you the new Green America credit card — a way to make all of your holiday purchases support community banking and Green America’s programs for people and the planet.
Second, we’re partnering with Green Business member World of Good to make it even easier for you to find responsible, green products when you’re shopping online. Our GreenPages.org site now links you directly to online shopping at World of Good, while World of Good uses Green America’s Seal of Approval to highlight the greenest of the green, and guide holiday shoppers toward the best fairly traded and eco-friendly gifts. (Every purchase you make through Green America’s World of Good portal directs $5 back to our work together building the green economy.)
Finally, we’re helping Green Business member We Add Up get the word out on their new Climate Action contest. We Add Up, the organic and fair-labor T-shirt company, is helping climate-action organizations mobilize consumers to take action for clean energy and green jobs in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate talks. Sign up to take action with We Add Up, and you’ll be entered to win dozens of prizes — many of them courtesy of still MORE of our Green Business members (and ranging from green household products all the way up to green vacations).
Notice a trend here? Our Green Business members are really on the move, leading the way to a sustainable future. If you’ve got a green business, or you’re thinking of starting one — or if you work for a business you’d like to inspire to go green — allow me to invite you to join us at our next Green Business Conference, November 11 and 12 in San Francisco (just before the San Francisco Green Festival). There are still a few slots left, and you’ll be able to network and share ideas with green business leaders like World of Good and others you read about in your e-newsletter. (For more information, contact Desiree Wolford at 202.872.5330, or desiree@greenamerica.org).
Here’s to greening business-as-usual in America,
P.S. Help support our Green Business Network. Your donation helps us help the greenest of the green survive and thrive during these challenging economic times. Thank you for your support.
Action: Find Holiday Shopping at the Green Pages online and at World of Good
When you’re looking for the greenest holiday gifts this season, look for the Green America seal of approval. All screened and approved members of our Green Business Network™ receive a copy of our seal (at right) to place on their Web sites or in their stores to let you know that they’ve passed Green America’s rigorous process for commitment to BOTH people AND planet. Our screening process covers over 275 sustainability criteria – so that you know any company carrying the Green America Seal of Approval has earned its green stripes and is a true green business leader.
If you do some of your holiday shopping on eBay, please check out WorldofGood.com, the eBay portal for socially and environmentally responsible products. World of Good offers products from our business members, using our Seal of Approval on their site to identify them as businesses that are truly green.
And finally, our World of Good partnership brings you more options when shopping on our own GreenPages.org. The new World of Good widget on the GreenPages sends you directly to shopping portals on World of Good where you can buy products directly from the businesses you’ve searched for on our site. Even better, from now until the end of 2010, every time you make a purchase at World of Good, after starting from the Green America landing page, $5 will go to support Green America.
News: Our November Interview With Wedge Worldwide
This month, we profile one of our Green Business Network members that has made the successful jump from being a small, respected, local green business, to making a go of it in the era of the Internet.
The Wedge Community Co-op started as a local, cooperative grocery store in 1974, as the first certified organic store in Minnesota. Over the years, as the co-op expanded, so did its customer base and its range of products, until finally the brick-and-mortar shop ran out of space. From that limitation was born the solution of an online store, which has grown into a major national source for Fair Trade products – tea and coffee, dinnerware, table linens, housewares, and more.
“The Web site was intended originally for the Wedge Co-op shoppers, but has moved into more of a national resource than a local resource,” says Wedge Worldwide’s Jessie Jacobson. “The majority of our shoppers now do not even live in Minnesota, or know anything about our history as a co-op.”
Resources: “I Am a Green American” Videos Posted at our YouTube Channel
Get inspired and hear about new ways to go green at our YouTube channel, where videos from our recent DC Green Festival feature Green Americans from in and around the nation’s capital explaining the latest green steps in their lives.
Meet Yasmine from Maryland who makes a green resolution to volunteer more in her community… Meet Tuesday from DC who makes art out of recycled maps, newspapers, and telephone books… And meet young Zach from Virginia who composts, turns the lights off in his room, plants trees, and is trying to convince his parents to put solar panels on his house!
Visit us at our future Green Festivals to film your own “I Am a Green American” message for our YouTube channel. San Francisco Green Festival is coming up soon, November 13 – 15, and we’ll be back in Seattle and Chicago this coming spring.
