One of the ongoing challenges of the Internet seems to be the ability to provide specific, local information. Case in point: I can find the GDP of Uzbekistan ($10.78 billion, in case you’re wondering) more easily than I can find an eco-friendly dry cleaner open past 7:00 in my neighborhood. Go figure.
Luckily, companies around the country are stepping in to fill this void. Here in Los Angeles, Greenopia is definitely the leader of the pack. Billed as “the urban dweller’s guide to green living” the Greenopia guide is available for $12.95 in a portable paperback version. The listings include just about every category that you can imagine, including service providers (my dry cleaner, at last!), restaurants, retailers and other green resources.
You can pick up a guide at many locations throughout LA, including area Whole Foods Markets. The company also offers a San Francisco edition, launched last month, along with a new website that includes searchable listings for both cities. And, according to Greenopia’s Hannah Davey, the company has plans to expand to New York within the next year or so, followed by Chicago, Seattle, Portland, and Boulder/Denver.
Unlike a typical Yellow Pages model, like Co-op America’s National Green Pages, businesses are strictly local. Perhaps more importantly, businesses cannot pay to be listed in Greenopia – they have to qualify. The results of this screening process are included in the guide as Greenopia’s own “leaf award” rating system. Representing each business’s commitment to sustainability, the ratings are based on considerations specific to each category. For example, restaurants are rated primarily based on the percentage of organic, locally grown, sustainably produced food on their menu.
This qualification process sets Greenopia apart, as it provides assurance that a business has earned the right to be included in the guide. Though the boom in environmentally-friendly products and services is definitely a good thing, who has the time or ability to investigate every “green” claim? Thank you, Greenopia, for helping us act locally, while thinking globally.
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