This book is fine for what it is, a compendium of information about buying 'green', from toys to pet supplies.

Its premise is wrong, however -- buying green is only the thinnest of band-aids atop our monstrous systemic problems of overconsumption and non-sustainable production. I dislike this brand of recycling effort because it shifts responsibility for the environment almost entirely upon the consumer. Certainly it is laudable to be responsible and aware of environmental issues in our buying choices, but the fact of the matter is that perhaps 1% or 2% of waste is directly generated by consumers. The remainder is generated during various production and transportation processes leading up to the sale. Trying to wade through thousands of products in an attempt to buy green simply obscures that key fact. Naturally that's in the interest of corporations themselves, who are all for having municipalities and private citizens bear the brunt of recycling labor and expense -- yet another cost of production successfully externalized out into the community.

This kind of book should simply be unnecessary -- ALL products should be 'green'. It is simply common sense: our resources are finite, but our systems are geared toward infinitely-growing production and consumption. Clearly, our systems must change such that the great majority of products are sustainably produced.