Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Diane MacEachern (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 28, 2008

Read Diane McEachern's posts on the Penguin Blog.

Protecting our environment is one of the biggest issues facing our planet today. But how do we solve a problem that can seem overwhelming-even hopeless? As Diane MacEachern argues in Big Green Purse, the best way to fight the industries that pollute the planet, thereby changing the marketplace forever, is to mobilize the most powerful consumer force in the world-women.

MacEachern's message is simple but revolutionary. If women harness the "power of their purse" and intentionally shift their spending money to commodities that have the greatest environmental benefit, they can create a cleaner, greener world. Spirited and informative, this book:

- targets twenty commodities-cars, cosmetics, coffee, food, paper products, appliances, cleansers, and more-where women's dollars can make a dramatic difference;
- provides easy-to-follow guidelines and lists so women can choose the greenest option regardless of what they're buying, along with recommended companies they should support;
- encourages women to spend wisely by explaining what's worth the premium price some green products cost, what's not, and when they shouldn't spend money at all; and
- differentiates between products that are actually "green" and those that are simply marketed as "ecofriendly."

Whether readers want to start with small changes or are ready to devote the majority of their budget to green products, MacEachern offers concrete and immediate ways that women can take action and make a difference. Empowering and enlightening, Big Green Purse will become the "green shopping bible" for women everywhere who are asking, "What can I do? "

Editorial Reviews

Review

“If you take just a few suggestions from Big Green Purse, you will be on your way to being part of the solution instead of part of the problem.”
—Laurie David, founder of StopGlobalWarming.org and a producer of An Inconvenient Truth

“When the subject is the environment, Diane MacEachern has long been ahead of the times.”
—The Christian Science Monitor

“The most important book your book club will read this year… Big Green Purse is a ‘must read, save, refer to’ book that will get us through the next critical decision making years.”
-Mary Hunt, inwomenwetrust.typepad.com

“A very good all-encompassing book about our environment and how individuals can make a difference…The perfect gift for someone who needs a friendly book on how to be more green.”
-Thegoodhuman.com

“Big Green Purse is a highly informative, well researched and important green living book for women…it’s the kind of reference book every green mom should have on her bookshelf.”
-Enviromom.com

“This book helps us realize the power we have to make a difference through our purchases…Who better to show us all the best and easiest ways to green our lives than Diane MacEachern?”
--www.natural-living-for-women.com

“One of the most informative and life changing books…instead of just telling us the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recyle) Diane actually tells us how we can do it.”
-Lifegoggles.com

“If money talks, Diane MacEachern is using hers to say “Save the Planet.” …MacEachern has shopped green for 20 years and has lots of tips for what’s worked for her and what hasn’t…In Big Green Purse, MacEachern encourages readers to take the power of the purse to an even higher level.”
-Body + Soul

"Best-selling environment writer Diane MacEachern shows women -- who spend 85 cents of every dollar in the marketplace -- how to start wielding their purchasing power for the good of the planet, and buying green as if their lives depended on it.”
- Plenty magazine

“A fat compendium of tips on how to buy everything from furniture to cosmetics that is more environmentally-friendly, without getting bamboozled by greenwashing."
-Salon.com

“A call-to-action with a simple message: women, use the power of your purse to solve the environmental crisis, while protecting yourselves and families.”
-Alphamom.com

“Get your copy today!...MacEachern doesn't mince her words and she isn't soft- pedaling this issue. She's a warrior princess, a fighter, a Queen, and she is not taking prisoners. She's out to help save the environment - but she can't do it alone. We're her army. Buy her book...get her widget, and join the fight."
-Yvonne DeVita, (www.lipsticking.com)

“Big Green Purse is an everyday consumer's resource - almost like a phone book's worth of information. It is a well -organized and easy to read guide that offers do- able suggestions for buying everything from beauty products to cars, cleaning products and food.”
-Andrea Learned, Learned on Women

"Big Green Purse is not just a list of things you should buy or avoid, rather MacEachern explains in detail the current marketplace, the issues and what the impact of buying these green purchase will make on the environment."
-Melissa, Greeniac_World.blogspot.com

“The book is a great resource for anyone not just women who are interesting in learning how to make better environmental decisions with their purchases.”
-Sustainableisgood.com

“We forget too much how much power we hold in our hands as consumers and how much good we can do with it. This book is a perfect guide for using this power in a green and wise way.”
-Ecolibris.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Avery Trade (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583333037
• ISBN-13: 978-1583333037
• ASIN: B001FWXRD4
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diane MacEachern, the founder and president of BigGreenPurse.com, is passionate about empowering women to use their marketplace clout to protect the environment. A best-selling author, successful business woman, entrepreneur and long-time conservationist, she has launched wwww.biggreenpurse.com, the only website in the U.S. dedicated specifically to transforming women's environmental concerns into measurable improvements in our quality of life. Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World, is her fourth book.

Big Green Purse has been featured in media outlets ranging from Family Circle, Body + Soul, More, and Sierra to U.S. News & World Report, CNN Radio, and Martha Stewart Living Radio. Diane speaks frequently to companies, government institutions, and non-profit organizations, including groups like the American Bankers Association, Toyota's In the Interest of Women annual conference, Harvard University, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her Big Green Purse blog is being carried by Environmental News Network, The Daily Green, BoomerGirl.com, and many more.

Diane's best-selling first book Save Our Planet: 750 Everyday Ways You Can Help Clean Up the Earth was featured on national television programs ranging from CNN Headline News to ALive with Regis and Kathie Lee@ to AThe ABC Network Television Earth Day Special@ and the ANBC Network Earth Day Special.' The book was also reprinted in Italy and Japan. Said Michael McCloskey, chairman of The Sierra Club, 'MacEachern pulls the whole picture together as no one has ever done: what the problems are, what we can do, and why it makes a difference.'

As the co-founder and chief executive of Vanguard Communications, Ms. MacEachern helped develop and implement national strategies to educate the public about such pressing issues as ocean pollution, renewable resources, sustainable agriculture, endangered species, wilderness preservation, human rights, civil society, land use planning, and nuclear weapons. For several years, she played an integral role in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to develop and implement a nationwide initiative to educate the public about global warming. Diane collaborated with Earth Day 2000 in developing an international program to raise awareness about opportunities for fuel efficiency and non-polluting energy sources. She was part of the team that helped create the 2-million acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument during the Clinton Administration.

In addition to Save Our Planet, Diane has enjoyed success as a newspaper and magazine columnist, contributing author, and web writer. Diane has written regularly for Good Housekeeping magazine. In addition, her writings have appeared in Family Circle, Self, Christian Science Monitor, Ladies Home Journal, Reader's Digest, First for Women, Baltimore Sun, Country Living, and many more. She has produced numerous award-winning publications on a wide variety of energy and environmental topics for members of Congress, the media and the public at large. She is also the author of Enough is Enough! The Hellraiser's Guide to Community Activism: How to Organize a Successful Campaign for Change. In addition, her writing appears in 50 Ways to Love Your Country (Inner Ocean Press for MoveOn.org).

Diane MacEachern received a Master's Degree from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. She is the vice-chair of the board of directors for the Alaska Wilderness League, where she is part of the team working to protect America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite good, but....... April 24, 2008

By J. Phillips

Format:Paperback

I enjoyed this book overall. There only seemed to be a few aspects missing....such as in the baby chapter about cloth diapers. She makes it sound as though there's only one style, when in fact there are loads and loads to choose from--and you can always dry them in the sun (at least during the summer) thus saving even more energy. So if you're having a baby, keep looking into diapers beyond the scope of this book.

The other small (big) thing she didn't mention in the gardening chapter was how destructive peat moss is, and how it's being banned in most of Europe with end-dates in sight, whereas nothing of the sort has happened here yet. Peat bogs contain 10% of the earth's fresh water and cannot recover as quickly as we harvest them for garden use. So don't use PEAT! Even though it's usually one of the cheapest "organic" garden mulches in North America. Also, don't buy peat seed pots (the kind that you can just plant in the ground when you move the seedlings outside)...use coir (coconut husk) instead.

Other than that, I liked her opinions and some of her strategies....some will work better for some people than others, depending of course on family size and where you live.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best green book I've read - and I've read a LOT! May 21, 2008

By Joel Williams

Format:Paperback

As the book Big Green Purse by Diane MacEachern is primarily aimed at women, I asked my wife to read it first. She gave me a sigh, rolled her eyes and said she would skim it, but it ended up being so interesting she read it cover to cover. Here's a direct quote (honest!):

"This is one of the most informative and life changing books I've ever read. It beats those 'self-help' books hands down as this actually contains practical information that you can use and apply for the rest of your life."

Women spend eight-five cents of every dollar in the US marketplace. Big Green Purse is about harnessing that spending power to improve the environment, influence manufacturers and to help you and your family to live a simpler, cleaner and healthier life.

Although my wife recommends reading the whole book, for those that are short on time it's broken into digestable chunks, such as cars, produce, cosmetics, kids and babies, and so on. Even if you don't read the whole chapter there is a wrap up section at the end which summarizes the main points.

She found it extremely interesting as it gave lots of excellent facts and statistics but doesn't lay on a guilt-trip. However you might feel unwell after reading about all the crap we're putting into our bodies... It makes you want to change your lifestyle for the better and shows easy ways to do this without spending any more money.

There are lots of practical tips and suggestions for which products to buy and avoid. These tips are actually useful rather than generic "buy natural" advice you often get. The book has seven Big Green Purse shopping principles:

Buy less
Read the label
Support sustainable standards
Look for third party verification
Choose fewer ingredients
Pick less packaging
Buy local

Instead of just telling us the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recyle) Diane actually tells us how we can do it. She expands on information that most of us know at least a little bit about, and my wife picked up a few new facts as well:

Clean, don't sterilize. Avoid anti-bacterial products such as soaps and personal care products as they do more harm than good
Avoid fragrances, phthalates, parabens and triclosan in cosmetics and personal care products
Buy sustainable seafood with the MSC label and select small fish like trout over the larger predators like tuna and seabass
Only certain types of plastics can be recycled - if you have to buy items in plastic, buy ones that can easily be recycled
Plant an eco-lawn as a great alternative to a traditional lawn.
If you plant three trees on the west side of your home you can trim your air-conditioning bill by up to 30% due to the shade they create.

In summary it's a great reference book to have on hand when you go shopping for certain products and although it's geared to women, it has many ideas that men and women would equally find interesting. Finally, my wife says "buy this book and lend to all your friends!"

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read This and Help the Planet! March 11, 2008

By Norma Lehmeierhartie VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Diane MacEachern gets it: as consumers, we have the power to create a greener world. (My only disagreement with her is putting the onus of responsibility on women; men count, too.)

We should support only businesses that take strong measures to ensure that they are not polluting the environment and that they conduct business with humanitarian practices. When corporations do not sell their product they will either change what is offensive, or their business will die. That is the beauty of a capitalist society; success is measured by financial strength. And, we as the consumer have the power to influence which companies survive.

MacEachern takes time to point out which companies are "greenwashing" and how to avoid those products.

She focuses on the following:
Coffee, tea and chocolate
Electrical appliances
Clothing and assessories
Personal care products
Household cleaners
Transportation

The book is empowering because we learn that each of us counts in making the world more environmentally safe.

By the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet