You know what it’s like to live green. You eat organic food, carry a reusable bag to the grocery store and haven’t touched a plastic bottle to your lips since before Obama had a White House address. But living green in a brown world is tough.
For example, maybe you can’t find a favorite organic wine at the farmer’s market, so you visit a huge supermarket chain. Can you still find the greenest wine, and if so, who has the most organic, dry-farm and sustainable grapes? Has your head exploded yet?
Not to worry. Greenopia, the web’s largest directory of green/organic/sustainable brands, is just a click away. Greenopia publishes extensive national green business, product and brand directories, as well as offering up a green web community, news articles, blogs and tips to help everyone eat, shop and live green. (Full disclosure: I also write for Greenopia. I expect to actually turn green any day now.)
Greenopia was founded in 2005 by Gay Browne, a lifelong asthmatic who began her green journey searching for ways to improve the living environment of both her and her kids. As Gay tells it, “I want to help people lead healthier lives in an increasingly toxic world.”
And she has. Greenopia has developed guides for Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, with plans underway for a 20-city rollout that includes Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Portland and more.
How does it work? First, pick your city. You’ll find general ratings on things like cars, gifts, jewelry, as well as brand ratings on items like coffee, beer and wine. The brand ratings even expand to look at the greenest colleges, airlines, oil companies, fast food restaurants and more.
Products and businesses are assessed to determine their overall greenness using a “four-leaf” rating system. Four leaves means said product or brand meets the most stringent criteria. A one-leaf rating says not so green and meets a minimum qualifying standard.
So if want a piece of pizza, Greenopia will find you a green pizzeria, a greener pizzeria, and the greenest pizzeria of all.
And finally, you can access Greenopia 24/7. The company recently debuted the Greenopia iPhone application. It provides a handheld guide to over 1,000 stores and businesses in the Los Angeles area – the rest of the country will be added soon.
Get instant reviews, information and links. Your carbon footprint will thank you!