Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: green chic, organic sheets, organic cotton, United States, New Black, Whole Foods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Matheson slyly steers us toward consumer goods and services that minimize our earth-stomping human footprint. She's brave enough to say 'buy less of everything,' and even the politically fraught 'buy nothing.' Matheson's genius is to make this seem not only doable, but fun."
- Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land and Bottlemania

Want to go green without giving up great style? Welcome to the world of Green Chic. Choosing to be green makes a real difference in the fight against global warming. But did you know that it's also hip, classic and stylish?

Offering up dozens of author-tested, earth-friendly ideas, writer Christie Matheson reveals that being chic and saving the planet aren't mutually exclusive.

Embrace the fabulousness of green living and you can:

- Look gorgeous
- Have a killer wardrobe
- Feel amazing
- Travel in style
- Create a home that's an oasis
- Host fun parties
- Eat incredible food and drink phenomenal wine
... All while feeling more connected to your friends, family and nature.

(And did we mention that green women don't get fat?)

Printed on recycled paper, with a portion of its proceeds going to a green cause, Green Chic is the perfect book for style-savvy readers with a green heart. Can living a chic green lifestyle TRULY make a difference to the planet? You bet your organic cotton sheets it can.

Buying into the Green Chic movement doesn't mean you need to buy more stuff.
Avoid products that purport to be green just for the marketing effect: "organic" processed foods; huge, gas-guzzling hybrid SUVs; clothes boasting that they're green just because they're made from "natural" cotton. Claiming to be green is trendy and companies out there are taking advantage. Don't believe all the hype.

10 GREEN CHIC-AND EASY-WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- Ditch bottled water: refill a sassy thermos.
- Pop little purchases in your purse, not a shopping bag.
- Sip biodynamic wine.
- Choose cashmere, not acrylic.
- Let your hair air dry for a while before you blow dry: less frizz, less energy consumed.
- Unplug (and put away) unsightly cell phone chargers.
- Opt for quality over quantity in everything you buy.
- Cut down on clutter.
- Limit your consumption of anything packaged in plastic.
- Support local designers.

BUT REMEMBER:

Don't go out and replace everything you own, from your makeup to your wardrobe to your furniture, with (theoretically) ecofriendly products. Being ecofriendly means consuming less, not more. Get in the habit of thinking before you buy. The best time to purchase ecofriendly goods is when you need them. That's when you're in a position to make a choice and express yourself as a green consumer.

Being Green isn't a fad ... it's timelessly chic.

About the Author

Christie Matheson is a writer living in San Francisco and Boston. Her work has appeared in Body & Soul, Glamour, Shape, Boston, San Francisco, Yoga Journal, and The Boston Globe Magazine. She is coauthor of The Confetti Cakes Cookbook, Vineyard Harvest: A Year of Good Food on Martha's Vineyard, and Tea Party and is the author and photographer of the outdoor travel book Discover Rhode Island.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; 1 edition (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402210825
• ISBN-13: 978-1402210822
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,704 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Information in an Easy to Read Format, March 16, 2008

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

The title of this book almost makes it sound like you'll be buying $500 dresses from organic hemp. Actually, what Green Chic provides is an extremely useful primer on how to incorporate green living into your daily life in a way that balances usefulness and impact.

Christie Matheson goes over a variety of basics in an easy to understand fashion. She explains the differences between incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, why fluorescent is better, and how to manage the switch. She talks about how wasteful plastic bottled water is, why it causes a lot of harm to the environment to buy water in this fashion, and what your options are.

She goes over the small differences you can make in your daily routine that really add up. Cut your shower length by 2 minutes to save 400 pounds of carbon a year. Uncharge your cell phone charger when not in use for another 100 pounds a year. These are things that are better for you anyway - your skin does much better with short showers - but you might not have thought about them before.

Wash your clothes in cold water. The heat really doesn't do anything at all with modern detergents, and if anything it might set a stain rather than let it wash out. Use recycled paper in your paper towels - if everyone in the US did that just once we'd save 1/2 million trees. Eat local foods, to save on the shipping impact of exhaust and gas.

We live in a consumer society. We buy things without thinking about their impact on our world. If each of us just made small changes - buying recycled paper cards, getting "non-thing" gifts for people like massage gift certificates or restaurant gift certificates, turning off lights when we left rooms - the impact could be phenomenal. Christie points these things out in an engaging manner.

Highly recommended! Then donate your copy to your local library, so even more people can learn from the information, and your own house reduces on its clutter!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!, February 22, 2008

By	Chris Santa Maria (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had this book on order for a while and it finally came in and it is wonderful. So much of the other green living material I've read is so unrealistic - but this author seems to recognize this up front. She presents a variety of practical ideas (all of which she personally tested) for more eco-friendly living - and there are a lot that I'm going to try. I also like how she gives a lot of environmental detail and background - so I know why I should implement the changes she suggests. And she's made this subject actually fun to read about. I highly recommend it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!, February 22, 2008

By	M. Power (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this book and was SO pleasantly surprised. Unlike so many of the other "green" books out there, Green Chic extends simple examples of how you can make an impact without having to feel like you're compromising style--it's the best of both worlds. The tone is positive, as are the messages, and you don't walk away feeling reprimanded so much as inspired to make changes. Great read; great gift; and even pretty enough to keep out! Enjoy...