ParkHowell.com

I’ve got be honest with you, I don’t necessarily shop online because it’s green.  I shop online, like most people, because it’s convenient: not having to deal with crowds, gas prices, parking, cranky clerks, out-of-stock items, etc.

Now, with this handy little widget from greenanysite.com, I/you can green my/your online purchases.  In essence, GAS has created a widget that makes them an instant affiliate with whatever site you’re shopping.  They take the profit they make as an affiliate and donate it to environmental organizations.

So I thought I’d give it a try.

After dragging the widget to my bookmarks toolbar, I went to Amazon.com to buy the book about Yankee’s legendary pitcher, Allie “Super Chief” Reynolds, for my wife.  That’s right, my wife.  Allie is her uncle, and I thought she’d like to have it for her family archives.  BTW, don’t mention it to her, because it’s for Christmas.  (I’ll let you know how she likes it later).

Anyway, before I added the book to my shopping cart, I clicked on the “Green This!” widget.

You know it’s working, I guess, when you see the green splatter marks on the screen. Presumably the greening of your purchase is happening, but the problem is you don’t get any final confirmation.  Once the blue screen disappears, you proceed to check out.

I’d like to see something that tells me and Allie that we’ve just offset some carbon somewhere.  Overall, it’s a cool, proactive way you can make a difference without trying too terribly hard. The site could use a little more in the design department. It’s just too green and blue and colored type over colored backgrounds that get a bit heavy handed, much like this blog. I’m done. Thank you.

One Comment

1. EcoChampion says:

   March 22, 2009 at 12:08 am

   Peter – you should have a look at http://www.moreeco.com. although this is UK based it similar to GAS. It has been up and running for nearly two years. have a look, you may want to give your Uk readers something to look at.