Shopping. We all do it. We all buy stuff we need, stuff we want, and some stuff that, honestly, we could probably do without. But it’s a fact of life, we live in a dispersed and increasingly global economy, and shopping isn’t going away. And all that stuff we buy impacts the planet. So what [...]

So you want to buy green, but you don’t know what to look for? It’s true; the array of “green” claims is dizzying, and it can be hard to cut through the green marketing hype to make truly informed sustainable shopping choices. Don’t become a victim of eco-stress! Use these six common-sense guidelines to help [...]

Here’s a tax day gift from Starbucks: bring in a reusable mug today, and they’ll fill it with drip for free. “Save money and save the earth?” Well, maybe. Starbucks, the seemingly ubiquitous coffee giant, likes to talk a lot of green, with a major marketing effort around their “Shared Planet” initiative. This tax day [...]

Bottled water. We know it’s nasty, from start to finish: turning oil into bottles, exploiting natural water supplies (or just filtering tap water!), and a huge half billion bottles per year waste problem. In honor of yesterday’s World Water Day, the Story of Stuff is out with a brilliant new video, which explains the bottled [...]

Forget food coloring. This year, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a pint of truly green, eco-friendly brew. What makes a brew eco-friendly? The same things that make a beer: energy, ingredients and distribution. Here’s how to find a guilt-free guzzle.

We found Shangri La. It’s in St. Louis. On our road trip from Virginia to Boulder, we hit St. Louis at dinner time. A quick Web search located a good bet: Shangri-La Diner, a café dishing up diner classics with a vegetarian twist. And they served milkshakes. It wasn’t too far off our route, so [...]

I’m a sucker for chocolate and hazelnut, so when I came across this Equal Exchange hazelnut chocolate bar last week in my local health food store, I just had to try it. Wow. The milk chocolate is rich and unbelievably smooth, with just enough hazelnut to add to the flavor without overpowering the chocolate. It’s [...]

Ben & Jerry’s is finally going all the way: they announced last week that they will be completely Fair Trade by the end of 2013, with all flavors in all countries produced with Fair Trade Certified ingredients. As the first ice cream company to start using Fair Trade ingredients (in 2005), Ben & Jerry’s is [...]

I can shop at Vitamin Cottage again – and so can you! When my family lived in Colorado’s uber-progressive Boulder County, Vitamin Cottage was our go-to store. And now I’ve discovered we can shop there online at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. In Boulder, arguably one of America’s natural food epicenters, we had our pick [...]

It’s been happening for a while. First, Walmart started offering a large selection of organic products in their grocery sections. Then the company saw the economic benefit of cutting its growing fuel costs by sourcing local produce; last July the company jumped on the locavore bandwagon. Now the monster retailer has initiated an “Earth Friendly” [...]

It’s that time again. SustainAbler wants to know what simple change you will make to live a more mindful, less wasteful life over the coming year. Mine is quite simple. NO MORE PAPER COFFEE CUPS. I drink a ton of coffee and waste a ton of to-go cups. No more. I’m going to