Review: 'Whole Green Catalog: 1,000 Best Things for You and the Earth'

The Whole Green Catalog casts a wide net in attempting to capture the entire spectrum of sustainable living. One has to admire the editors’ encyclopedic ambitions, and their success at balancing useful information with informative product descriptions, but too many product descriptions smack of greenwashing, as if written by the manufacturer’s PR agency. There are inevitable holes in any book that attempts to describe the entire universe of green living and sustainable products, but The Whole Green Catalog is a noteworthy, if flawed, first effort.

You’ve got to hand it to the editors and writers behind the Whole Green Catalog -- regardless of what you may think of their final product, you can’t say they’re afraid of tackling a big subject. And with thousands of product descriptions and tips for sustainable living, they’ve definitely bitten off a big chunk of the green pie.

They may, however, have bitten off more than they can chew. While there are smartly written descriptions of more products than you will ever need in a lifetime of green living, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find that many of their products aren’t really green at all. Worse, their descriptions are so rapturous that it’s difficult to believe that they’re based on actual use. Instead, it seems they were copied and pasted right off the manufacturer’s press release.

Take, for example, the Clarisonic, a handheld, electric-operated face scrubber. It looks like it’s imported from China, there’s no mention of it being made of any kind of recycled material, and it requires electricity to operate. So what makes it green? According to the catalog, the Clarisonic “reduces your beauty footprint because less product is required to achieve stellar results again and again.” Frankly, that sounds like total hogwash. I expect the editors got some free samples of this and other products, and gave the items glowing reviews simply because that’s how lazy catalog editors work.

It’s hard to imagine a more embarrassing case of greenwashing than the Clarisonic -- but the Whole Green Catalog keeps sliding down that slippery slope. In the Pet Care section is the Untangler, a comb for dogs and cats. But is it green? Your guess is as good as mine. In Homebuilding is a tool made by Stanley used for demolishing walls, the Fatmax. With dozens of similar tools on the market, one has to wonder why this one gets a nod. Again, I’m thinking “free samples.”

Despite these and many other examples of greenwashing, the book isn’t a total waste of 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Throughout the book are hundreds of helpful suggestions on how and where to recycle, tips on saving energy, and ideas for DIY projects that don’t involve buying anything. It’s a great source for general information on a wide range of issues; with 20 sections covering everything from electronics to gardening and homebuilding, there’s something in here for everyone. It’s unfortunate, however, that the credibility of the entire catalog is diminished by the editors’ suspicious advertorial choices.