[Southern California Permaculture] Alternatives to Amazon – Environmentally and Socially Responsible Holiday Retailers!

Tue Dec 9 22:37:22 PST 2014

shop local first, but then, if you must shop 
online...(Amazon a blind spot for many 
permaculturists/environmentalists it seems)

Alternatives to Amazon – Environmentally and 
Socially Responsible Holiday Retailers!

  <http://blog.greenamerica.org/2014/11/18/alternatives-to-amazon-environmentally-and-socially-responsible-holiday-retailers/#linktochart>
amazon-alternatives-ad-only250x

http://www.greenamerica.org/

The holidays are approaching, and like many 
Americans, you will probably purchase a gift for 
a friend or family member online. As a proud 
Green American, however, you may be wondering how 
the company synonymous with online shopping, 
Amazon, ranks in terms of sustainability and 
social responsibility. We did some research on 
the issue, and found that by most corporate 
standards, Amazon does poorly in these fields.

For the past year, Green America and its allies 
have been pressing Amazon to take action on 
climate change. In response, Amazon has taken two 
significant steps: it hired Kara Hurst, the 
former CEO of the Sustainability Consortium, as 
its first-ever sustainability director, and it 
revealed that the company has a goal of 
<http://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/sustainable-energy/>100% 
renewable energy for its servers. However, unlike 
competitors that have announced a transition to 
renewable energy Amazon does not provide a 
timeline for the transition and has made no real 
commitments to clean energy. Amazon’s data 
centers burn an ever-growing amount of energy 
generated by dirty fossil sources, and 
<http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2012/iCoal/HowCleanisYourCloud.pdf>Greenpeace 
ranks them among the worst in transparency, 
infrastructure siting, energy efficiency, 
greenhouse gas mitigation, and renewable energy investment and advocacy.

Amazon currently has no published sustainability 
report, at a time when almost every other Fortune 
500 company publishes such a report. The company 
also once again declined to respond to the 
<https://www.cdp.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx>Carbon 
Disclosure Project, which provides a system for 
companies to measure, disclose, and manage 
environmental information, which would serve as a 
first step in understanding and reducing Amazon’s carbon emissions.

In addition to their dismal environmental record, 
Amazon demonstrates a lack of commitment to 
social responsibility. The company 
<http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2017895493_amazonsalestax03.html>actively 
fought against state efforts to collect sales 
taxes in 2012 (Amazon’s brick and mortar 
competitors all have to pay sales taxes, which put them at a disadvantage).

Amazon also has a poor record on workers’ pay and 
rights. Amazon actually 
<http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/30/news/companies/amazon-warehouse-workers/>pays 
its warehouse workers less than WalMart pays. 
And, workers allege they aren’t even paid for all 
of their time on the job. A 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/business/justices-weighing-wages-for-after-work-screenings-.html?_r=0>class 
action lawsuit has been filed against an Amazon 
warehouse for failure to pay workers for time it 
takes at the end of each shift (about 25 minutes) 
to make sure these workers are not stealing 
products. The 25 minutes it takes to go through 
security should be compensated. And, warehouse 
conditions are poor as well. 
<http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/12/21/why-amazon-great-not-good>Company 
warehouses were not equipped with electricity for 
air conditioning until 2011, leaving workers to 
toil in 90-degree weather during the summer months.

Fortunately, there are plenty of online holiday 
shopping options that bear a proud declaration of 
their commitment to people and the planet. 
Products ranging from books to toys to apparel 
made with environmentally friendly production 
methods, fair-trade partners, and clean energy 
can be shipped to your door, guilt-free. Have a 
look at our Amazon Alternatives Holiday Shopping 
Guide below to find a gift that your loved ones 
will cherish, and the planet will thank you for. 
Many of the businesses listed are certified 
members of our Green Business Network, so you 
know they are responsible companies.

Amazon Alternatives Holiday Shopping Guide:

Powell’s <http://www.powells.com>powells.com 
Books, Audio Books, DVDs Operates a fleet of 
biodiesel-powered trucks, purchases wind power, 
and generates electricity from solar panels on their roof.

Better World Books
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.betterworldbooks.com>betterworldbooks.com 
Books, e-books, DVDs By circulating previously 
owned merchandise,has recycled over 216 million 
pounds of books and offset 44,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Viva Terra
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.vivaterra.com>vivaterra.com Eco home 
décor, accessories,artisan goods Offers a wide 
range of organic, all-natural, fair-trade, 
artisan-made, recycled, chemical-free products, all made in the USA.

Etsy <http://www.etsy.com>etsy.com Artisan-made 
crafts, jewelry, art Connects shoppers directly 
with sellers of artisan-made crafts, jewelry, and 
art. Robust environmental reporting program 
ensures the company minimizes their resource use and carbon footprint.

Ten Thousand Villages
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.tenthousandvillages.com>tenthousandvillages.com 
Fair Trade arts and crafts, jewelry, music, food 
Handmade art, jewelry, and textiles are focused 
on providing equitable returns to artisans in 
developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Ebay <http://www.ebay.com>ebay.com Used goods 
galore  hundreds ofcategories Largest online 
engine for reuse on the planet; allows people to 
sell items they own and aren’t using, reducing 
demand for new manufactured goods and landfill space.

Terra Experience
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.terraexperience.com>terraexperience.com 
Fair Trade Mayan arts and crafts Supports 
environmental education in supplier countries, 
uses energy efficient technologies, post-consumer 
recycled paper, hybrid vehicles, and website hosted by 100% wind power.

Worldfinds
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.worldfinds.com>worldfinds.com Fair 
Trade gifts All products are handmade, often 
locally, and are shipped using recycled paper, packaging material, and boxes.

Indigenous
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://www.indigenous.com>indigenous.com Fair 
Trade/Eco Clothing Makes high-quality clothing 
honoring both the people and the planet from 
natural and organic fibers such as cotton, silk, 
wool, alpaca, and Tencel; committed to using environmentally-friendly dyes.

Maggie’s Organics
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://maggiesorganics.com>maggiesorganics.com 
Fair Trade, organic clothing All clothes are made 
with certified organic fibers, fair labor 
practices, using low-carbon production methods.

Equal Exchange
Member of the Green Business Network
<http://equalexchange.coop>equalexchange.coop 
Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate Imports organic 
coffee, tea, chocolates, candy bars, cocoa, 
sugar, nuts, cereal bars, bananas, and olive oil. 
Helps sustain 75 farmer co-ops in 30 countries.

Indie shops online: 
<http://www.nearbyregistry.com>http://www.nearbyregistry.com.

Green Pages Online 
<http://www.greenpages.org>greenpages.org 
Everything greenhome décor, clothing, jewelry 
and beyond. Thousands of great gift ideas! The 
over 3,000 businesses listed on GreenPages.org 
have undergone a rigorous certification for 
social and environmental sustainability.

Santa Babara Permaculture Network Logo

(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.org
http://www.sbpermaculture.org

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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