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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
EVERY DOLLAR IS A VOTE. MAKE YOURS COUNT.
According to the latest research, the average American family spends nearly $22,000 a year on goods and services – that’s 22,000 votes for the world you want to live in.
Now in its fourth edition, The Better World Shopping Guide is the most comprehensive guide available for socially and environmentally responsible consumers. Drawing on over 25 years of research, this perennial bestseller rates every product on the shelf from A to F so you can quickly tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys" — turning your grocery list into a powerful tool to change the world.
5000+ Hours Of Research
2000+ Companies Evaluated
70+ Product Categories
50+ Reliable Sources
5 Essential Issues
1 Report Card
Including more Top 10 lists, updated Green Heroes and Corporate Villains, a brand new FAQ, hundreds of additional company rankings and links to the latest online resources, The Better World Shopping Guide will help you find out which companies actually “walk the talk” when it comes to:
environmental sustainability
human rights
community involvement
animal protection
social justice.
Small enough to fit in a back pocket or handbag and organized in a user-friendly format, The Better World Shopping Guide will help you change the world as you shop!
Ellis Jones, Ph.D. is the award-winning author of The Better World Shopping Guide and the co-author of The Better World Handbook. He teaches sociology at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
According to the latest research, the average American family spends nearly $22,000 a year on goods and services – that’s 22,000 votes for the world you want to live in.
Now in its fourth edition, The Better World Shopping Guide is the most comprehensive guide available for socially and environmentally responsible consumers. Drawing on over 25 years of research, this perennial bestseller rates every product on the shelf from A to F so you can quickly tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys" — turning your grocery list into a powerful tool to change the world.
5000+ Hours Of Research
2000+ Companies Evaluated
70+ Product Categories
50+ Reliable Sources
5 Essential Issues
1 Report Card
Including more Top 10 lists, updated Green Heroes and Corporate Villains, a brand new FAQ, hundreds of additional company rankings and links to the latest online resources, The Better World Shopping Guide will help you find out which companies actually “walk the talk” when it comes to:
environmental sustainability
human rights
community involvement
animal protection
social justice.
Small enough to fit in a back pocket or handbag and organized in a user-friendly format, The Better World Shopping Guide will help you change the world as you shop!
Ellis Jones, Ph.D. is the award-winning author of The Better World Shopping Guide and the co-author of The Better World Handbook. He teaches sociology at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA.
About the Author
Ellis Jones, PhD is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Better World Shopping Guide and The Better World Handbook. A scholar of social responsibility, global citizenship and everyday activism, Dr. Jones has dedicated himself to uncovering practical ways for people to make a difference in the world. He currently teaches in the department of sociology at Holy Cross College. www.betterworldshopper.org
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
88 of 89 people found the following review helpful
By Monica Harry
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have to admit I'm feeling a little bit evil and trecherous for not giving such a great book and excellent concept a five-star review, but I will explain.
I am a long-time vegetarian and long-time environmentalist. I have been following Dr. Jones' "vote with your wallet" concept for many, many years (more than I care to admit), and I firmly believe that our voice is most greatly amplified when we speak daily from our role as consumer.
The GREAT thing about this book is that it is a concise, easy-to-carry, easy-to-consult-on-the-fly score card for most everything you might want to buy, from just about every company you can buy it from, and even from most of the places you'd be buying it. If you're already a well-informed green shopper and you have some experience with the politics of responsible consumption, then this is, indeed, a five-star book.
The downside to the book is that in order to make it a "pocket guide," it contains very little background information or explanation for why a particular company received the score they did. If you're new to the concept and find lots of your favorite products are getting Ds and Fs, then you are left almost on your own to find out why. (Of course, I'm all for doing your own research!) There are SOME explanations, but it's just not possible to detail the myriad reasons for corporate irresponsibility in a 177-page pocket-sized book.
There IS a web site for the book, but I don't think it's been updated for the second edition of the book, and it has very limited functionality. There is no search function, for example, and if there are details about specific company scores, I couldn't find them.
An example: I need some new pajamas. I have always liked shopping at Marshalls, not only because of the good prices and selection, but because I feel like my consumer dollar means less there---whatever I buy is usually past-season and is no longer part of the mainstream consumer chain. However, I checked my Better World Shopping Guide (page 134, Retail Stores) and find, much to my dismay, that Marshalls ranks a D minus! However, because they aren't the worst company on the page (that dishonor goes to Wal-Mart), there's nothing on the detail page to explain why Marshalls did so poorly.
I went to the web site and looked for nearly 15 minutes, and I still couldn't find anything to explain what a retail store had to do to rank a D minus. In fact, the listing under Retail Stores is from the first edition of the book, and Marshalls isn't even on the list. The small-print explanation beneath the chart discusses only how the data is collected and processed, and not WHY the companies received the grades they did. Since there's no search function, either, I couldn't simply type in "marshalls" and hope to find the answer to my question.
We NEED books like this, and we need people and organizations who can help us, the average consumer, understand how large corporations operate in relation to our world.
Big companies like Philip Morris (the world's largest tobacco company, who owns Kraft, Nabisco, and a few hundred other brands) don't make it easy for consumers to link their brands with the parent company. Lots of people, even you maybe, would be surprised to know that something as seemingly innocent as buying an all-American favorite like Kraft Mac & Cheese helps Big Tobacco's bottom line.
Even the grocery manager at my local Whole Foods didn't know that Back To Nature was a Kraft Foods holding when I asked him why Whole Foods Market even carries it and currently has the whole brand on store-wide sale. I've got the same question in to Whole Foods' corporate customer service, but I haven't gotten my answer yet.
I LOVE this book and will continue to carry it in my purse every time I go shopping, and will continue to consult it before every shopping trip (like today). However, what's missing is adequate back-up information for new users and for those of us who want to know WHY we're doing what we're doing. I wouldn't mind if the back-up was on the web site and not in the book itself, but it's not easy to find anywhere, and I don't think that's a good idea when your goal is to educate consumers to make better decisions. I also think that most people who buy a book like this are, by nature, the kind of people who ask the same questions I'm asking, and who want to know the facts.
I'm looking into The Better World Handbook to see if that is a recommended companion, so maybe the answers to my questions are there.
I am a long-time vegetarian and long-time environmentalist. I have been following Dr. Jones' "vote with your wallet" concept for many, many years (more than I care to admit), and I firmly believe that our voice is most greatly amplified when we speak daily from our role as consumer.
The GREAT thing about this book is that it is a concise, easy-to-carry, easy-to-consult-on-the-fly score card for most everything you might want to buy, from just about every company you can buy it from, and even from most of the places you'd be buying it. If you're already a well-informed green shopper and you have some experience with the politics of responsible consumption, then this is, indeed, a five-star book.
The downside to the book is that in order to make it a "pocket guide," it contains very little background information or explanation for why a particular company received the score they did. If you're new to the concept and find lots of your favorite products are getting Ds and Fs, then you are left almost on your own to find out why. (Of course, I'm all for doing your own research!) There are SOME explanations, but it's just not possible to detail the myriad reasons for corporate irresponsibility in a 177-page pocket-sized book.
There IS a web site for the book, but I don't think it's been updated for the second edition of the book, and it has very limited functionality. There is no search function, for example, and if there are details about specific company scores, I couldn't find them.
An example: I need some new pajamas. I have always liked shopping at Marshalls, not only because of the good prices and selection, but because I feel like my consumer dollar means less there---whatever I buy is usually past-season and is no longer part of the mainstream consumer chain. However, I checked my Better World Shopping Guide (page 134, Retail Stores) and find, much to my dismay, that Marshalls ranks a D minus! However, because they aren't the worst company on the page (that dishonor goes to Wal-Mart), there's nothing on the detail page to explain why Marshalls did so poorly.
I went to the web site and looked for nearly 15 minutes, and I still couldn't find anything to explain what a retail store had to do to rank a D minus. In fact, the listing under Retail Stores is from the first edition of the book, and Marshalls isn't even on the list. The small-print explanation beneath the chart discusses only how the data is collected and processed, and not WHY the companies received the grades they did. Since there's no search function, either, I couldn't simply type in "marshalls" and hope to find the answer to my question.
We NEED books like this, and we need people and organizations who can help us, the average consumer, understand how large corporations operate in relation to our world.
Big companies like Philip Morris (the world's largest tobacco company, who owns Kraft, Nabisco, and a few hundred other brands) don't make it easy for consumers to link their brands with the parent company. Lots of people, even you maybe, would be surprised to know that something as seemingly innocent as buying an all-American favorite like Kraft Mac & Cheese helps Big Tobacco's bottom line.
Even the grocery manager at my local Whole Foods didn't know that Back To Nature was a Kraft Foods holding when I asked him why Whole Foods Market even carries it and currently has the whole brand on store-wide sale. I've got the same question in to Whole Foods' corporate customer service, but I haven't gotten my answer yet.
I LOVE this book and will continue to carry it in my purse every time I go shopping, and will continue to consult it before every shopping trip (like today). However, what's missing is adequate back-up information for new users and for those of us who want to know WHY we're doing what we're doing. I wouldn't mind if the back-up was on the web site and not in the book itself, but it's not easy to find anywhere, and I don't think that's a good idea when your goal is to educate consumers to make better decisions. I also think that most people who buy a book like this are, by nature, the kind of people who ask the same questions I'm asking, and who want to know the facts.
I'm looking into The Better World Handbook to see if that is a recommended companion, so maybe the answers to my questions are there.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By KW Wright
Format:Paperback
We purchased this book directly from the author at the Green Festival in San Francisco in November 2006. We were very excited to find it as we ourselves have done research into many of these companies for our own purchasing needs. We try our best to live responsibly but are by no means hippies, we each own a car (although rarely drive them) and live a comfortable existance. We try to consume as little as we can but the reality is that we don't want to look like tramps who just rolled off a box-car. We like to dress nice, drink good wine, and live in a nicely furnished place. This book has been a great addition to our lives, it takes the wonder and even some of the guilt out of shopping. The letter grading of the companies is excellent and could not be any clearer, the additional information (like the "corporate villian" and "corporate hero") next to the ratings is terriffic and concise. We have shown this book to friends and they all want a copy. This is an invaluable tool and we never shop without it. Bravo Mr. Jones!
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By S. Ralls
Format:Paperback
This is an invaluable quick-reference guide for ethical and eco-friendly shopping. It's comprehensive, listing popular national brands, regional brands, and smaller organics, among others. It's fantastic for shopping, as it's small and portable, but packed with info and easy to use, with simple A-through-F grades. I do try to be an educated, careful consumer, but when shopping without time for researching first, it's great to be able to look the item up and get a quick answer. I've bought a few extra for Christmas gifts!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handy and informative pocket guide
Great book if you want information on how to spend your money with a conscience. The ratings system is easy to understand and explained well. Great layout. Nice portable size. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nancy Dobson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quick and Easy
I recently decided I would like to become a smarter shopper, and I asked one of my elders at college how I go about this, and she handed me her older edition of this book, so I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Chelsey
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Better World Shopping Guide
I bought this book for myself and several people I care about because I think it is important to use our consumer power where we can. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Joansdatter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful and eye-opening!
This book was very informative and helpful, yet still small enough to put in your purse to reference on a daily basis. Great information!
Published 1 month ago by Jillian Phillips
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
This is a great book that can really help you in making positive decisions when purchasing products. I highly recommend it.
Published 2 months ago by beth
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
Love the idea. A very helpful tool in making responsible shopping choices. Love the fact that I can help and that all the research is already done
Published 3 months ago by Katie Reich
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book is worth the time put into it
A really short book that drives home a very important rule. Easy read and a quick list of what to spend your dollar on. Probably took 15 mintues to get the idea. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mike C
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Better World Shopping Guide #4
This 2012 edition of the Better World Shopping Guide is excellent. Every American should buy this book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joankona1
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book for environmentally conscious people
This book is very helpful and I constantly use it. Most people buy a maybe read it once if that and then don't read it again, but I constantly read mine
Published 4 months ago by Niki
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pass It Forward
This is a great gift for everyone. Buy one for yourself and another one to pass on. This little book makes us all better people.
Published 4 months ago by Nellie Hauchman
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