The Red, White, and Green

When I was little, we had a Swedish babysitter. I’ll never forget her description of her first visit to an American supermarket: She stood in the packaged bread aisle for what seemed an hour, mesmerized by the sheer number of choices one had for making a sandwich — butter top white, whole grain with honey, Jewish rye, potato rolls… A whole aisle devoted to bread! she exclaimed. In her country, there were maybe one or two varieties.

As American consumers, the variety we have access to can certainly be seen as a blessing — it’s possible, after all, to find a product to fit any lifestyle — but it can also be incredibly overwhelming navigating the marketplace. Especially when it comes to making “green” choices. Which of the thousands of products lining the aisles of my local Target are really healthy for both me and the planet? Can I really trust an item’s claims that it is, in fact, “eco-friendly”?

I have a bit more insight into these questions than most, since I research green issues for a living, but even I don’t have the hours every day to scour the internet for the environmental pros and cons of every item on my shopping list. Which is why I was thrilled to discover that Ron and Lisa Beres, certified green building professionals and founders of the website Green Nest, have done the work for me with their new book, Just Green It! (Running Press, 2010).

The book outlines simple swaps you can make for greener products: Looking for an eco-friendly grill cleaner? Just flip to the “Home” section, and see that Simple Green is a safer choice than Easy Off. Want a healthier cookie for your kids’ lunches? Check out the “Your Family” chapter, and learn why you should pick up a pack of organic Newman-O’s over HFC-filled Oreos.

Pending baby’s arrival (due date was yesterday), I’ll be heading to the Just Green It! book launch party tonight, but you don’t have to meet Ron and Lisa in person to benefit from their sage advice (and painstaking research): Order your copy here.

–Jennifer Grayson

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