*Thank you to NetGalley and Health Communications Inc for the free copy*
This book is similar to other ‘search for eco-friendly products’ books, but what stood out was the detailed list of organizations and stamps to look out for on products, why they’re there, and other supplementary websites to help decide what products and companies to buy from.

I do appreciate the lengthy amount of alternative websites, apps, and stores to consider, although it’s mostly USA-centric. While I’m glad there’s some suggested tools to use when the reader may shop Target or Amazon, I was kind of hoping the author would mention that retailers like those should be a last resort. Some of the listings are also repetitive, as some orgs are mentioned more than a few times than necessary.

Was well researched and informative. Only few things I noticed were she neglected to mention that whilst a cause of the Irish potato famine was the mold, a huge contributing factor was that the English were stealing Irish food, which greatly contributed to the problem. But this is a lesser known fact so she can be forgiven for this.

Secondly, the term “Native American” was used. Whilst this may be okay in the States, in Canada, (where I live) especially, this is considered an outdated and offensive term; and the word “Indigenous” is preferred. As it lends credence to the fact that they were never Americans, but the first peoples on those lands who had them stolen by the ancestors of the people who consider themselves Americans. I’m guessing this wasn’t done maliciously, but as a wife, mother, and friend to Indigenous persons, from what I gather many Indigenous persons in the States also take offense to this term as well as Canadian Indigenous persons, the more appropriate term of “Indigenous” could have been used.

Thirdly some ethical brand label descriptions repeated themselves in different chapters, and there was a bit of repetition in a few chapters in mentioning to contact brand labels to query their company morals and ethics, and if they are behaving unethically to call them out on this. Not sure if this was a glitch in the ARC I had or done intentionally, and I feel that, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book, mentioning this once was more than enough.

Was really horrified that make up marketed to black women is more toxic than that marketed to white women. But was a fact I was not aware of before and am more mindful of now, especially as a mother to Indigenous persons, that BIPOC people can be more ostracized unfairly than many people would like to let on, and that’s not okay.

At one point she recommended using microfibre cloths, which most people in the eco friendly community will tell you to avoid as they can shed microplastics into the water system. However as a reusable option it’s better in a pinch as opposed to a single use option, but cotton or natural fibre cloths are always more environmentally friendly.

Otherwise this book helped me to both greatly reassess my shopping choices and also have more knowledge on reputable vs shady shopping brands. In today’s capitalist society, I feel this is a book that should be in every household, and if every literate person reads it and shares that information with any illiterate person, it could greatly change human’s shopping and environmental impacts on a mass level for the greater good, and help to reduce capitalism. And thank you NetGalley for the ARC. 😊

This book is a rich resource for anyone who wants to live more sustainably. There are a lot of practical tips and specific apps provided, but the book also recognizes that progress is better than perfection. Life is busy and expensive, so switching many things at once feels overwhelming and NOT sustainable; I appreciate that the author suggests making one swap per week. I may not be able to implement all of the suggestions in this book, but I feel good about making progress!

Thank you to NetGalley, Diane Osgood, and Health Communications Inc for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions. This review is cross-posted on Goodreads and Instagram, and will be posted on Amazon upon publication date.