Sustainable Consumption, Consumer Rights, Planned Obsolenscence and the Role of Media

Building Green
www.buildinggreen.com
Building Green provides product reviews, an events calendar and features articles on green building materials and practices.

Center for a New American Dream
www.newdream.org
The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice.

Conservatree
www.conservatree.com
Conservatree provides access to articles, reports and newsletters on recycled, tree-free and chlorine-free printing and writing papers.

Consumer's Choice Council
www.consumerscouncil.org
The Consumer's Choice Council is an association of environmental, consumer and human rights organizations from 25 different countries, dedicated to protecting the environment and promoting human rights and basic labor standards through ecolabeling.

Co-op America
www.coopamerica.org
Co-op America harnesses economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

Factor Ten Institute
www.factor10-institue.org
The Factor Ten Institute was created to provide practical support for achieving significant advances in resource productivity in the production and consumption sectors.

Food Alliance
www.thefoodalliance.org
The Food Alliance recognizes farmers who produce food in environmentally and socially responsible ways, and educates consumers about the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

FoodRoutes.org
www.foodroutes.org
FoodRoutes.org allows users to locate vendors of locally grown, organic produce.

Global Footprint Network
www.footprintnetwork.org
The Global Footprint Network works to a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint, a measurement and management tool that makes the reality of planetary limits relevant to decision-makers throughout the world.

The Green Guide
www.thegreenguide.com
The goal of The Green Guide and www.thegreenguide.com is to serve as a practical, reliable, and trustworthy content source for product choices and daily practices that are better for health and the environment.

Green Schools
www.greenschools.net
The Green Schools Initiative was founded by parent-environmentalists who were shocked by how un-environmental their kids’ schools were and mobilized to improve the environmental health and ecological sustainability of schools in the U.S.

Health Care Without Harm
www.noharm.org
HCWH works with purchasing departments of hospitals to promote environmentally preferably purchasing which both promotes sustainability in the hospitals and increases demand for greener, safer products and materials.

Healthy Building Network
www.healthybuilding.net
The Healthy Building Network (HBN) is a national network of green building professionals, environmental and health activists, socially responsible investment advocates and others who are interested in promoting healthier building materials as a means of improving public health and preserving the global environment.

The Organic Consumers Association
www.organicconsumers.org
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) campaigns health, justice, and sustainability. The OCA deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics.

Redefining Progress
www.rprogress.org
Redefining Progress promotes market-based environmental policies that use pricing systems to promote sustainability and equity.

Sustainable Products Purchasers Coalition
www.sppcoalition.org
The Sustainable Products Purchasers Coalition acts a catalyst for the transformation of industry and the marketplace to develop, produce and consume sustainable products utilizing the Coalition's aggregate purchasing power.

Take Back Your Time
www.timeday.org
Take Back Your Time is a major U.S. and Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment.

 

You can find even more groups working on consumption issues, and add yours at:
http://wiserearth.org/aof/30 (consumption and green consumers)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/137 (ecolabeling and certification)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/182 (ecological footprint)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/143 (sustainable living)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/332 (sustainability education)

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Planned Obsolescence / Extended Producer Responsibility

California Product Stewardship Council
www.caproductstewardship.org
The California Product Stewardship Council is an organization of local governments from throughout California who aim to shift California's product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability.

Product Policy Institute
www.productpolicy.org
The mission of the Product Policy Institute is to develop and communicate a strong framework for product-focused environmental policies that advance sustainable production and consumption and good governance.

Product Stewardship Institute
www.productstewardshipinstitute.org
The Product Stewardship Institute assists state and local governments throughout the US in developing product-stewardship policies.

 

You can find even more groups working on sustainable design and product stewardship issues, and add yours at:
http://wiserearth.org/aof/803 (sustainable design)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/22 (biomimicry)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/794 (sustainability and technology)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/95 (sustainable materials)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/127 (recycling and reuse)

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The Role of Media/Marketing/Advertising:

Center for a New American Dream (kids and commercialism project)
http://www.newdream.org/kids/index.php
The Center for a New American Dream’s Kids and Commercialism Campaign raises awareness of the effects of marketing on kids and offers parents, educators, and concerned citizens a wealth of info that will provide a broader understanding of what children face today, and offers tips and resources to help parents and others band together to protect children from intrusive and harmful advertising.

Commercial Alert
www.commercialalert.org
Commercial Alert works to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy.

 

You can find even more groups working on media issues, and add yours at:
http://wiserearth.org/aof/761 (advertising)
http://wiserearth.org/aof/263 (media and communication)