Products and Shopping Books

The Shopping Guide for Caring Consumers is: * thorough * well written * well organized * reasonable (doesn't chastise,just informs) * something you can easily carry with you to the grocery or drug store. When you are given the knowledge and the opportunity to do some good, how could you not? I NOW only buy cruelty-free products. There are a lot of quality alternatives out there. We CAN make a difference. I know I am.

I use this informative paperback before I make any purchase. This book lists, in a very organized manner (sorted by type of product), companies that do and that do not test their products on animals. There is a separate section designated for coupons for products from companies that do not engage in animal testing, as well as more specific information about the companies themselves. One section that I found particularly interesting is the list of charities that do/do not engage in aminal testing, and the intelligent reasons why results from animal testing cannot be extrapolated to humans. There are literally dozens of non-profit, cruelty-free organizations to which one can contribute. If you're looking for anything from cruelty-free cosmetics to vegan cookbooks, then this book is for you.

This is a must have reference for those of us who want to be concious consumers and who don't want to sponsor the suffering of animals. It lists the ingredients and the companies by name that are conducting the animal tortures. In this day and age such testing and slauter practices are not necessary. Its just cheap and easy or a practice that is "the way they've always done it." If you want to send a message with your pocket book this book will help you. It taught me a lot. It also taught me about charities that promote animal suffering by sponsering animal testing - testing that in many cases does not need to be done in harmful ways or in some cases at all. Great reference.

i found this book very informative and i never leave home without it

Great informative guide. There are so many companies out there that make it possible to shop cruelty free, so why not? Don't leave home without it!

I shop with my 3-year-old daughter. She loves this book, and I also like it a great deal. The pictures are detailed enough to give us tangents for conversation -- we talk about what she'd like to buy next time we go shopping. I've even used the cashier page to start talking with her about money, and why I go to work (so we can pay for things we want to buy). And as the previous reviewer noted, it provides an awfully good role model, when the little girl puts treats back on the shelf!

My four year old and two year old both love this book. The text is simple and rhyming, allowing both of them to "read" it as well. The story follows a girl shopping with her father, occasionally picking up a treat. Her father says "Not Today" and she "puts it away". Imagine my delight at the toy store when my son threw a package on the counter. "Not today," I told him. "So I put it away," he responded and put it on the shelf! My kind of literature that influences life!

I was given this book as a gift years ago and now I plan to buy the latest edition. This book has very concrete information, product names and contact numbers and addresses of companies that do not contribute to animal cruelty. Armed with the PETA guide, anyone can go into the supermarket or drug store and know which brands of shampoo or roll-on were manufactured without needless cruelty to animals. I recommend it to everyone who wants to take one easy step toward living a more compassionate life.

I always look forward to receiving this guide each year. It always seems to have updated information, which, not only is a good sign that other companies are joining in the cause, but also, it's a good reason to buy a new guide every year. It is easy to take with you so you never have to second-guess yourself when shopping. We have so many options today to follow a compassionate path, and this guide is evidence of that. Take some time to learn more about the products and companies. You will feel quite empowered.

These are probably some of the best books ever written, not only do they give you advice about buying everyday products, they also help to select brands with good repair histories and lowest priceses with the best possible features.

Cars are often sought after in this magazine because they give unbiased ratings for car models up to 8 years old.
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Buy this book It will save you money, time, and effort in buying products at stores will be greatly reduced!

I took this book to the grocery store and it was very helpful. I think this is a must have book when trying to eat healthy.

This book is a MUST for anyone who wants to know what their money actually supports! After reading this book, I stopped supporting companies that were abusive towards animals or irresponsible in other ways and I switched to products from companies with a clear track record. I highly recommend this book.

As part of my research into 'Shopping', I came across this incredibly well thought out book. Filled with lavish illustrations from the 2002 "Shopping: A Century of Art and Consumer Culture" exhibit, in additon to thought-provoking, informative background essays by selected artists themselves, this book stands out on its own.

The perfect coffee table book - and makes a welcome addition to anyone curiously fascinated with the 'art' of shopping. Highly Recommended.

While we did not use this book as much as we did the Baby version, it still had some good information. The companion website is also invaluable.

A great book to have if you want to be smart about what to buy, when there are so many baby products out there. Please note that this is for toddlers aged 2-5. If you have a younger child, it's better to buy a "Baby Bargains" book. Great info on various brands and ratings of both domestic and imported baby gear and apparel, including clothing, shoes, strollers, etc. Some of the information is not necessarily about saving money, as the authors also review posh items, but they also give you great tips on when to buy discounted stuff and get brand name things for less. Overall, a useful book.

I started with Baby Bargins and moved on to this one, I love it...as a new mom it saves me so much time and money.

I hated the baby bargains book but this one is WORSE. My pediatrician gave it a hands down and his only comment was "a few authors trying to make a buck."
They obviously have no research in this book because they recommend products that are not even age appropriate. These authors have little credibility in my eyes and according to other reviewers, it seems the same. I was never a bargain shopper, really, I mean who is unless you have to be! But, if I was, I don't see this book as a bargain.

I haven't had time to read through it yet. But the Baby Bargains book was pretty helpful (though too dependent on the anecdote in some cases). I'm hoping this will be similar.

I downloaded the 2007 edition from the Baby Bargains website since the print version offered at Amazon is 3 years out of date. The eBook is in PDF format and readable by any computer with a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's also cheaper than the paperback.

On the plus side you can do immediate text searches within the book and you could print out just the relevant info for your shopping trips. On the negative side, you won't have a copy to casually flip through. Everytime, you'll need to boot up your computer or PDA (or PSP running a homebrew PDF reader).

"The Better World Shopping Guide" should be on everyone's desk who is in charge of drawing up shopping lists for their families. It is a terrific resource which enables us to be better, more knowledgeable consumers whose purchases make the least negative impact on our world. An updated version would be even more helpful.

I'll start off by saying that this is the most important book I own. I thought that I was being a good citizen to the environment by recycling everything, buying organic produce, etc. I had no idea how off the mark I was until I picked up this book. It is, to say the least, an eye-opener.

I carry it in my purse at all times, and, with it's grading system, it is very user friendly. One of the things that blew me away was the fact that almost 40% of all chocolate produced in the world is done using child slave labor! For that reason alone you should know who scored a "D" or "F." Not only does it list brands of foods you should avoid, but retail stores, electronics, clothing, gas, and the list goes on.

Usually I don't go on about books, or anything else I buy here, but this book is a huge exception for me. I honestly believe if we were all more conscience of the products we purchased, and where we purchased them from, this world would be a lot better place. If I could afford it I would buy a copy of this book for everyone I know.

"A must Have!" if you want to make a life change then this is the book that will help you do it.

Anyone who is working on being a better consumer with a social conscience will benefit from this very helpful book. After I read and used it, I gave copies to three friends. Two of them now take the book shopping with them as they try to make better purchasing choices.

This guide will help you to make better choices on how to spend your dollars. If you care about the social integrity of a company -- and where your money goes, buy this book and keep it with you to use at the store. I love this book , although I used to love it more -- the older version had detailed charts so you could see in which areas companies performed well or didn't. Now the authors don't provide the charts, they turn the details into a grade. The upside is that the book is smaller and easier to use. Maybe they could print a fatter one with all the charts, too!? I would buy both!

Halfway through the book I wrote "superb, clear-cut," and then the book whimpered to an end. This is a very good idea, it was offered for sale at Bioneers 2007, so I have left it at four stars in part because of that and in part because I liked the specifications of brands that made the grade.

The book consists of 11 short parts with the first six being fairly robust and useful, and the last five whimpering to an end, rather pedestrian and not as illuminating or diverse as the earlier sections.

1) PERSONAL: Cosmetics, tampons and pads, sex toys, all toxic if you buy the wrong brands. Woman's pee going into the oceans with artificial estrogen lowering the sperm count of ocean animals (this at the same time that human male sperm count is nose-diving for varied other reasons).

2) ECO-CHIC covers clothing and does a good job of outlining vitual water, sweatshop costs, and (new to me) the dry cleaning implications when wash and wear is not the default option. Similarly, jewlery is rife with blood diamonds and so on, new to me was the integrity of Canadian jewlery, the value of synthetic, and used jewlery.

3) FOOD advises among many other things to avoid farm fish (I would add, avoid Wal-Wart fish as their practices are destroying the South Pacific), be conscious of genetic and pesticide hand-me-downs (arsenic in fast food chicken from the feed seeking to kill worms in the chickens). Pays tribute to the "slow food" movement (something my wife and I are designing the new kitchen toward, inspired by the week I spent in a French country kitchen in Provance).

4) KIDS, avoid plastic, plastic, plastic. I was very surprised to learn about the relatively toxic nature of most plastic. I knew about the arsenic in the old wood playground sets. Wood toys recommended, used toys recommended. Excellent emphasis on how asthma in kids is sky-rocketing (and I would add, especially in low income neighborhoods with little green and excessive idling trucks) from pollution. Good emphasis on how many countries are forbidding advertising toward children.

5) CLEAN LIVING focuses on the relative toxicity of specific cleaners, many of which increase the oil in the water downstream. Suggests that one read and sort all items by the relative danger warnings on the labels, cut use fo detergent in half, buy a front loader washer for dramatic energy and water savings. Encourages the washing and re-use of zip lock bags, the elmination of seran wrap (and my wife told me tonight, now known to transfer toxicity to food when used in the microwave). Recommends trash triage, home compost hear. Useful pointer to web site 41pounds.org where for $41 a year, they will do all the work needed to eliminate all jumk mail (I sealed my office mail address and got a post box, achieved the same effect but at a higher cost). As with most Bioneers, the book is very strongly against buying water in plastic bottles, pointing out that most such water is tap water, and that the plastic bottles are one of the greatest threats we impose on the ocean. In this section, I have the notation, "superb list of web sites" largely in relation to computer take-back programs.

6) HOME is a lot of common sense, including no carpets, wood suspect because of toxicity of the sealants, cork and bamboo tops (I was enchanted by bamboo home and furniture exhibits at Bioneers). Green your home room by room, do NOT use petroleum-based candles, insist on beeswax or soy-based candles, don't use chlorine for pools and cleaning.

7) ENERGY, standard stuff.

8) GARDEN. basic.

9) CAR. Pedestrian.

10) Pets, ho hom.

11) Holidays, cute, some interesting detail.

Bottom line: I read it to the very end and I recommend it for buying, but this is a book that could be executed better, and it could be converted into a website in which one can select where they want to be on the greenness meter, and then print out a list of recommended everything by clicking on categories of interest. I think of this as a superb first generation effort, and look forward to seventh generation variations. In that vein, I am very excited by the possibilties of combining the "true cost" information being gradually built up within the World Index of Social and Environmental Responsibility (WISER), and the ability to use a cell phone to read a bar code, send it to WISER (eventually, not today) and get back the "true cost" as well as the txicity of the item, with alteranatives recommended by price and store.

Good book on balance, a fine use of my time on the flight back.

See also:
Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy
The Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution and the Industrial System
High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy
Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption

I love this book! I wanted to get back into being eco-conscious (fell out during those wild years of college in the mid-90s, I'm so ashamed) and this book was a wonderful jumping off point. Sections on clothes, cosmetics, house products, kids, cars, gardening, etc. are thorough and fun to read. I will use it as a reference forever! In fact, I'll re-read it before I get pregnant and before I buy a house.

While I want to buy another copy of this book to inspire my not-so-eco-conscious but very pregnant cousin, my granola brother would find it too basic. That is NOT to say it is armchair environmentalism. Ms. Garrett is serious about being green in every way she can be without disengaging from popular culture: she has switched to a green power provider and composts, etc. And while she may not be 100%, her quest is inspirational. I just hope she updates every few years because I want to know more places to turn to for products and ideas.

I also bought and recommend "Clean House, Clean Planet" by Logan and "Living Green" by Horn.

My boyfriend bought this book for me and I've since bought 5 copies that I have passed on to friends! It is VERY informative and makes you aware of why you should and should not use certain products. While it makes you concerned about our future, it doesn't have too much of an alarmist attitude and throws in HILARIOUS comic relief. I LOVE Leslie Garrett's tone!

I think that many of us believe that we are doing our part to preserve our world for our children and grandchildren. We happily recycle what we can. We donate our old clothes to good will. We enjoy local foods and even buy organic sometimes.

The Virtuous Consumer shows the consumer that there is so much more that we could be doing. This book examines better options in every single consumer category from food and clothing through energy consumption and pesticide free gardening to adopting a pet and buying a car. Reading this information for me was rather eye opening. I really hadn't thought about how my pads and tampons were adding to the landfills. I had never even considered that there might be other options. Likewise, I had never spent even a single moment thinking about the pesticides used to grow my cotton clothing, what my laminate flooring was really made of, or the chemical composition of my children's toys.

The Virtuous Consumer is an interesting read. I don't see myself following the author's guidelines to the letter or worrying about how every purchase I make effects the world. However, I did find a handful of things that I could conceivable do within my regular routine and a few new products that I'd like to check out. I am also armed with a little more information that will likely affect my buying practices and choices.

Leslie Garrett is a fantastic writer who has managed to break through the confusing world of how to act in an eco friendly world, while acknowledging that being perfect at it all the time just isn't going to happen. With personal and funny anecdotes, great references, research, and an easy to read style, you won't be able to put it down...and you will change some of your ways. She has a gentle way of convincing without preaching - even to the Hummer driving, bottled water drinking crowd.