The food you eat, the way you drive, the clothes you wear, the things you buy – all of these traditional modes of consumption impact the environment in negative ways. Here are resources to help you reverse these effects - and even to make a positive impact on the world.

Green News and Information
Social Networking
Shopping and Clothing
Food
Travel
Home and Community
Business
Books

Our Rating System: Each of our resources is given an A (excellent), B (good), or C (marginal) rating based on two criteria, Content and Accessibility.

Content refers to the quality and quantity of the information provided by the website. A higher rating means that the information is reliable and abundant. A lower rating means the information could be better sourced or cited, or more complete.

Accessibility refers to the user-friendliness of the site itself as well as how easy or difficult the information provided is to understand. A higher rating means the site is well-planned and easily navigated by the average user. A lower grade means that the site is less easily navigated, or that the information is more difficult for non-professionals to use.

Green News and Information

About My Planet
This news and community website features blogs, forums, and an excellent stream of daily articles about the environment, green products, news, and going-green tips.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Cleantech
Clean-energy and clean-environment news, issues, and technology.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Recycling Super Guide
An online guide teaching great recycling practices.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Green Footsteps
Websites that are simple and easy to navigate yet chock full of great information are harder and harder to come by these days. Green Footsteps presents a number of excellent articles on all aspects of green lifestyle, and makes them easy to find and enjoyable to read.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The Green Guide
A magazine about green living from National Geographic.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

GreenMaven.com
GreenMaven is a green search engine. Using Google technology, they have constructed a search engine that will return results emphasizing green and sustainable websites. They also have a green directory (an index of all their searched websites) and a green news ticker. GreenMaven was #9 of Time Magazine's top ten new websites for 2006.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Green Options
An extensive, well-written resource center, blog, green news ticker, and discussion forums. Green Options provides practical, personal knowledge to help people live a greener life.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Grist
Grist is an excellent Seattle-based online magazine focusing on news of green issues and sustainable living. Their bit is to report the news without the usual we're-all-gonna-die attitude. "Grist: it's gloom and doom with a sense of humor." News, advice columns, blogs, and podcasts.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Indian Eco Magazine
Eco friendly magazine with many contributors from India.

ReadyMade Magazine
A bimonthly print magazine with an online component, with blogs, videos, a store, message boards, and a "swapmeet." This is a magazine "for people who like to make stuff," like a briefcase from cardboard, floors from recycled lumber, insulation from straw, tables from driftwood and old windows, homemade laundry detergent, or flip-flops from tires. Take recycling to the next level.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The Story of Stuff
Annie Leonard takes on a tour of the material stream, from land to factory to shelf to home to trash, and shows the issues inherent in each step. A good message, although it can be too partisan at times.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Treehugger.com
An online magazine committed to "everything that has a modern aesthetic yet is environmentally responsible." Their stated goal is to bring sustainability up from the underground and make it mainstream. The magazine features articles on food, clothing, design, transportation, travel, fashion, business, science, and articles on "How to Green Your..." (Work, Water, Furniture, Electricity, Sex Life...). Blogs, message boards, even a job board.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Worldchanging.com
A website aimed at individuals and communities that want to do something about making their lives sustainable and earth-friendly. For those familiar with the Whole Earth Catalog, environmentalist author Bill McKibben has called Worldchanging Whole Earth for the 21st Century. A clearinghouse of ideas and actions, this website - and the accompanying book - is full of ways, big and small, to make a difference. An incredible resource.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Social Networking

Care2
An interactive social networking and activism site. Offers news and information on everything from human and animal rights, politics, and everything green, activism alerts on ways to help, and the opportunity to connect with people who share common values.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Hugg.com
Hugg, created by Treehugger, is a social bookmarking site similar to Digg and Del.icio.us. Except here, uses bookmark green websites, blogs, articles, etc., and other users can visit and "hugg" them too if they like.
Content: B
Accessibility: B

IdeaList
A community action site. A place for activists to find each other and set up meetings in their cities or find all kinds of volunteer work, and a place for nonprofits and volunteer organizations to get noticed. There is also a nonprofit job board. 66,000+ nonprofit and community organizations around the world with thousands of available volunteer opportunities.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Shopping and Clothing

American Apparel
US made, fair-wage clothing.  The company even makes it’s own fabric in-factory.  The clothes are nice, and supporting domestic economy is always good, however, some of the ads seem a bit sexist...
Content: A
Accessibility: A

EcoMall
This site offers links to tons of online eco-friendly stores.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Lotus Organics
This site is more for women, but is offering more choices for men.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Nau
Nipping at Patagonia's heels is Nau, a new clothing company based in Portland, OR. Their goal is "to demonstrate the highest levels of citizenship in everything we do: product creation, production, labor practices, the way we treat each other, environmental practices and philanthropy." Their commitment is to create clothing that unites beauty, performance, and sustainability, by combining unique design with unique materials, like organic cotton and all-new, all-recycled high-tech polymers. Nau also has an excellent blog, the Thought Kitchen.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

nu.lethics
Fashionable eco-athletic wear.  Not too many choices, but a nice site with good looking clothes.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

Organic Consumer's Association
Information on everything organic.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Patagonia
The Ventura, CA based clothing company has led the sustainable clothing movement for thirty years, with unique products like fleece made from recycled bottles and organic cotton. Their mission is "Build the best product, do no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis."
Content: B
Accessibility: A

Vegan Karma
You know the stereotypes, but the products offered on this site are not what you think when you think “vegan.” You can buy everything from clothes, jewelry, candles, books, bags, shoes, food, etc., as well as global items, art, and jewelry to support smaller communities in developing areas.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

EcoStyle Blogs:

The Alternative Consumer

ecoFabulous

EcoFriend

Great Green Goods

Great Green Baby

The Goode Life

Haute*Nature

HippyShopper

Sustainable Style Foundation

Food

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
This is a good resource center offering technical and scientific information about organic foods and farming.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

LocalHarvest.org
This website is an amazing resource for finding local and organic food supplies. Its database and interactive map allow you to find nearby local food restaurants, grocery stores, farmers' markets, farms, and community supported agriculture co-ops.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Sustainable Table
A website dedicated to the sustainable food and agriculture movements and to educating consumers on the food they eat. Eating local, eating organic, and eating well are all tenets of this site. "Sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities."
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Travel

Eco-Tourism and Conservation International
Offers information on eco-conscious travel and destinations.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

EcoTravelLogue
The eco travel part of the site is made up of various blog-style news and information about travel. The BootsnAll part of the site offers travel deals, destinations, gear, etc.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Sustainable Travel International
Provides information and options on traveling sustainably: protecting and respecting the environments, cultures, and economies of the places we visit. Resources on tourism certification, carbon offsets, and eco-tourism.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Home and Community

Green Living Suite 101
Readable, doable suggestions about making your home, family, and lifestyle greener and more enjoyable. Updated frequently, with an emphasis on communicating values.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Renewing the Countryside
This website has stories of farmers, artists, business owners, community leaders, non-profit organizers, youth and others who are living, working and playing in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and future generations.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The Smart Communities Network
This website from the National Center for Appropriate Technology highlights ways to make not just ourselves but also our communities sustainable. They look at ideas in a variety of fields, such as green building and alternative transportation, and also point out success stories in those fields.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

US Department of Energy: The Green Power Network
This website, provided by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has information on which utilities offer "green power," power based not on fossil fuel but on renewable sources, and how much of a premium they charge for that service. Also, news on green power around the country. Extensive.
Content: B
Accessibility: B

Business

GreenBiz
Connecting environmentally conscious business people.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Ryze
A green business site offering an organic business forum and network.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

SocialFunds.com
This website is devoted to the idea of Socially Responsible Investing - investing money (stocks and mutual funds) in companies that value environmental responsibility, human rights, product safety and quality, and fair practices in the marketplace. The idea is for you to make money while supporting companies that do their part to make the world better. Fund managers have developed rigorous screening standards for the companies they choose to buy stocks from. This isn't for everybody, and there are of course risks, but if you know something about investing and you value a safer, cleaner, friendlier world, SRI can help you put your money where your mouth is.
Content: A
Accessibility: C

Books

The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists
Michael Brower and Warren Leon, authors
Find it at Amazon
The UCS have put together an incredibly thorough book - one that's practically read as scripture by today's environmentalists - about the everyday consumption habits we take for granted and the ways they harm the environment. From powerboats to microwaves to grass, everything carries a particular level of environmental impact. But fear not: the UCS is here to tell you that you can have a tremendously positive on your lifestyle and the environment by changing just a few of your daily habits, like driving less, turning down your thermostat, eating less meat, and using fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescents. A greener lifestyle is within reach.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Worldchanging: A User's Guide to the 21st Century
Alex Steffen, editor
Find it at Amazon
While difficult to simply read from beginning to end, this book is so full of wonderfully useful information that it should be considered an essential purchase as you move to a greener future for yourself. Built on a seemingly endless selection of well-written short articles on a variety of topics, from scooters to outdoor couches made from dirt and grass (a real why-didn't-anyone-think-of-this-before moment) to rainwater gardens to solving human rights issues, Worldchanging keeps the promise of its lofty title.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Natural Capitalism
Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, authors
Find it at Amazon
This book illustrates a new economic and industrial direction, which can already be seen, the authors argue, in the world's leading-edge companies. This is "natural capitalism," which theorizes that environmentally sustainable business practices are not only good for the environment but profitable for business as well. The authors argue that the methods for creating a profitable, sustainable business already exist and are waiting to be used. They attempt to knock down the barriers that many business owners see on the path to sustainability, such as high initial costs and lack of knowledge. This book does at times read like an economics book - which it is - but for the most part it is fascinating and completely readable, not to mention necessary.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

It's Easy Being Green
Crissy Trask, author
Find it at Amazon
At least 80 percent of Americans agree with the goals and dreams of the environmental movement. However, many Americans do little more than recycling when it comes to acting on that feeling. Why is there such a disparity between thought and action? It's Easy Being Green, written by environmental consultant Crissy Trask, seeks to change that disparity with simple, practical, day-to-day suggestions that anyone can put into action. The book features a checklist of actions and a treasure trove of websites ready to help you green your lifestyle.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
Anders R. Edwards, author
Find it at Amazon
These days "sustainability" is a weighty word. Most of us understand the general meaning behind it, but what is the true history of the sustainability movement? This book analyzes the history of sustainability in commerce, design, resource extraction, and community, using common themes of stewardship, economic restructuring, equitable wages, human rights, zero waste, and respect for nature.
Content: A
Accessibility: B