January 1, 2000, gives us a chance to make the ultimate New Year's resolution: Live in
a clean, green fashion. Here are some Web sites that can help you plunge into the next
century.
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star site at www.epa.gov/energystar/
helps you educate yourself about and locate energy-saving household appliances, home
electronics, and other products. The site will also steer you toward retail stores that
carry Energy Star goods.
Among the commercial
"green" online shopping sites on the Web, two stand out: Ethical Shopper (www.ethicalshopper.com)
and Green Marketplace (www.greenmarketplace.com).
Both offer a broad array of environmentally responsible household products and gifts. Once
aimed mostly at "off the grid" consumers, Real Goods at www.realgoods.com now sells more than 10,000 products
online, many suitable for an urban household.
Shop
for Change ( www.shopforchange.com) will donate 5 percent of
your online purchase to its list of progressive nonprofits.
And as you step into
the new millennium that January morning, you might want to do so with a cup of joe made
with "fair-trade"coffee beans grown on small-scale farms in Latin America and
Africa. Equal Exchange offers a full range of shade-grown organic blends at www. equalexchange.com. —Larissa
Zimberoff
