The Centre for Natural Burial

By Michele Chandler, San Jose Mercury News

Bay Area shoppers interested in patronizing environmentally-friendly businesses will soon be able to refer to a new consumer guide that lists 1,400 “green” companies, from rental car firms offering hybrid vehicles to eateries serving organic food.

Sales of the Greenopia book begin next month, one year after the group’s inaugural guide on Los Angeles businesses offering eco-friendly products and services hit the stands.

“We look at everything from where to get your nails and hair done to where to have your dog groomed or who to hire to clean your home with non-toxic cleaning products,” said Ferris Kawar, Greenopia’s education and development director. Even green burial services are featured: “There are quite a number of great alternatives to your typical formaldehyde embalming and putting you in a lacquered mahogany box that decomposes and spreads the toxins around,” Kawar said.

He said the book covers the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes businesses in Los Altos, Novato, Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland.

The 242-page guide - which sells for $14.95 - does not accept paid listings or paid advertising. Companies included in the book were reviewed by one of seven researchers who checked out the business, examined its products and talked to company managers. All retailers listed were deemed to have a minimum of 25 percent of their products or services classified as eco-friendly.

Companies are graded on a rating system that lists one leaf for companies that meet the minimum eco-friendly standards, to four leaves for the greenest businesses. “We want to drive demand to the stores that are trying the hardest, but at the same time, not exclude people that are not 100 percent” eco-friendly, said Kawar.

Information on Greenopia and where to buy the guide is available at www.greenopia.com or by calling (310) 917-1100.

Source - San Jose Mercury News