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Mission and History
GreenerChoices.org, launched on Earth Day 2005 by Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, is a Web-based initiative to inform, engage, and empower consumers about environmentally-friendly products and practices. GreenerChoices.org offers an accessible, reliable, and practical source of information on buying “greener” products that have minimal environmental impact and meet personal needs.
We created GreenerChoices.org to address the lack of credible, in-depth information on green products, services, and lifestyles, especially on the Web. Environmentally conscious consumers are faced with a huge amount of “green washing” by companies that want to capitalize on and exploit the growing interest in environmentally-friendly products, health, pollution and toxics.
In contrast, Consumers Union’s Web sites and other media provide non-commercial, independently researched, unbiased information to consumers. With more than 70 years of experience, we understand how to find and present the most in-depth, comprehensive consumer advice by taking into consideration cost, reliability, performance and quality of products and services, as well as environmental attributes.
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Vision and Promise
For millions of environmentally conscious “green consumers” whose numbers are rapidly growing, we provide practical, unbiased advice they can trust. For tens of millions more who would like to buy green, but may not have access to the information they need, we offer a unique online resource and are actively reaching out to these consumers. Our goals are ambitious. We aim to:
•Expand Consumers Union’s role as a major resource on environmental issues for a diverse audience.
•Engage a critical mass of consumers to recognize the environmental and health impacts of their choices and empower them to make sustainable buying and living choices.
•Create a transformed marketplace that offers appropriate, sustainable solutions to environmental problems.
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Accomplishments
Since our launch in April 2005, our content and audiences have grown steadily. Traffic to our environmental Web sites has climbed from an average of 55,000 visitors per month in 2005, to 110,000 in 2007. Subscribers to our newsletter have also increased 25% over the past year.
Currently, we offer a range of useful information in five product categories—Appliances, Cars, Electronics, Food, and Home and Garden— and have expanded content in several new areas:
•Global Warming Solutions Center—launched in the spring of 2007 to offer consumers practical advice for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at home and on the road.
•Electronics Waste Reuse & Recycling Center—launched in the fall of 2006 to educate consumers about the growing problems of electronic waste and offer responsible options for reducing it.
•Green Consumer Toolkit—interactive tools from energy calculators, to toxics finders. Consumers can also use our Eco-labels.org search tool to evaluate labels on food, wood, personal care products and household cleaners.
•Expanded Green Product Ratings—evaluations on products’ energy and water usage, fuel efficiency, and more.
•Expanded Global Warming Updates—practical advice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.
•Email News Alerts—launched in June, 2006, with more than 5,000 registered users; provides updated ratings, and product alerts.
•Community Forums and Blogs—an interactive community area where consumers can share their opinions / reviews of green products. The section provides another source of information, especially for products Consumer Reports has not yet tested.
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Expert Staff
Charles Bell is the Programs Director for Consumers Union. In that capacity, he provides fiscal and administrative oversight of Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org and assists with research, media work, policy development and coordination. Since joining Consumers Union in 1989, Bell has written articles on health care and consumer affairs topics that have been published in the Charlotte Observer, the Journal News, the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Seattle Times, and the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., is the Project Director for Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org and Consumers Union’s Senior Scientist for Policy Initiatives. Dr. Rangan joined Consumers Union in 1999 and produced the Eco-labels.org Web site. A noted environmental health scientist, she also serves as a spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production and consumption practices, organic food standards, food safety issues, pollution, toxics, and environmental health concerns. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1995; her post-doctoral work at the Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute. She was an NIH fellow from 1990-97.
Kristi Wiedemann is a Science and Policy Analyst and writer for Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org. Her scientific background and editorial experience developing Web content for socially responsible companies led her to Consumers Union in April 2005. She covers topics on environmentally friendly products, services, and lifestyles, and represents GreenerChoices.org at conferences and trade shows across the country. She received her Master of Science degree from Tufts School of Nutrition, with a major in Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and her B.S. degree in Environmental & Forest Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry.
Joyce H. Newman is an Editorial and Creative Consultant to GreenerChoices.org. An award-winning new media executive and broadcast journalist whose credits include a wide range of environmental and "green consumer” websites and programs, Newman previously founded and directed for Consumer Reports Television, the broadcast arm of Consumers Union, where she was executive producer for award-winning programs on HBO, public TV, and commercial networks. Since 1998, she has specialized in strategic communications for a variety of nonprofits, creating and managing content-driven websites for Environmental Defense, Human Rights First, and other groups. Her honors include the Environmental Media Award, several cable ACE Awards and an Emmy. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and the Online News Association. She holds an M.A. from Harvard University and B.A. from Connecticut College, New London, CT.
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Funders
With the generous support of The Surdna Foundation, the Foundation of Donor Advised Funds, and The Overbrook Foundation, we were able to launch and grow the program and Web site in 2005. Through a grant from the Clarence E. Heller Foundation, we are preparing investigative pieces on conventional versus sustainable dairy production.
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Media Coverage
GreenerChoices.org has been featured prominently in print, broadcast and online media. In October 2005, Urvashi Rangan, Project Director, appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and the Web site was showcased on the program’s Web site as a resource on preventing global warming and offering other “green” choices.
Several network newscasts covering the Consumer Reports piece on mercury in tuna, aired expert interviews with Urvashi Rangan—NBC’s Today Show, The CBS Early Show, CNN American Morning and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Additional mentions include: NBC Nightly News, WOR Radio, CBS Marketwatch, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Food & Chemical News, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bergen County Record, Winston-Salem Journal, Supermarket News, Chicago Tribune, Scripps Howard News Service, Associated Press, Augusta Chronicle, Miami Herald, WebMd, CNNMoney.com, and ABCNews.com, MSNBC.com.
See more highlights of GreenerChoices.org in the news.
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About Consumers Union
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org, is an independent, non-profit testing and information organization that provides unbiased assessments and advice about products and services, personal finance, health and nutrition, and other issues affecting consumers. To maintain its independence and impartiality, Consumers Union accepts no commercial contributions, no outside advertising and no free test samples. Consumers Union relies solely on the sale of its information products and services, individual contributions, and foundation and government grants.
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What's green about Consumers Union?
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Contact Us
Email us at webmaster@greenerchoices.org
Our editorial offices are located at the headquarters of:
Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, New York,
USA 10703-1057
914-378-2000 (main number)
(Please do not call this number regarding subscription matters for Consumers Union publications. If you experience any difficulties with your subscription, please feel free to call our Online Subscription Department at 1-800-333-0663, Monday through Friday 8:00am - 11:00pm EST, and Saturday 9:30am - 6:00pm EST. At times of heavy call volume, you may experience a delay.)
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