I’m hunting for statistics comparing the energy and natural resources used by a purchase online (which many people I meet think, incorrectly, is better for the environment) in a shop. So far, I haven’t found any numbers, but this report highlights the problems: “Online Shopping and the Environment”. I was amused to be reminded that [...]

I had a call this week from a reporter at the Daily Mail in London who wants to interview me about having an ethical, green Christmas. I laughed at the irony of calling the day after Thanksgiving, usually the last Friday in November, Black Friday. It’s the day Christmas shopping supposedly begins, and there are [...]

This is the time of year when catalogues pile up on the table in our front hall, ironic really because it’s a Shaker table–”It’s a gift to be simple, it’s a gift to be free.” But the Shakers were shrewd marketers themselves, and now that I co-own a publishing company, I have much more sympathy [...]

I adore certain of the more expensive natural skin care products. Like many people who do yoga and shop at whole food markets, I use Dr. Hauschka’s–in spite of not believing in the whole biodynamic crystals-in-a-cowhorn thing. Whatever I think about the packaging claims, I find their scent irresistable and soothing. And empirical evidence [...]

Who would have thought? I certainly thought Organic Style was healthy enough (though a little garish, like a slightly over-the-top potted plant). But Rodale’s cancelled it, and if you click to subscribe you got straight to the old-time standard bearer, Organic Gardening. People ask me about magazines quite often, because they want something frequent and [...]