Unlike a lot of living green books I’ve read out there, Christie Matheson brings a sense of fun and style to the challenge of trying to live green. But her book is not all fun and games, nor a call to go out and spend lots of money on the growing “green industry.” While rejecting the idea that being green means adopting a Spartan lifestyle, Matheson is firm in saying that buying and consuming less is an inescapable part of the green lifestyle equation.
Green Chic covers the gamut from fashion and beauty to home renovations, travel, and diet. The author is mindful of the big picture, but the focus of the book is on practical and incremental steps within everyone’s reach. The smallest thing can have a substantial ripple effect—for example, more than 50 million pounds of toothbrushes end up in landfills each year! Matheson includes a helpful glossary of environmental terms such as “food miles” (food in most U.S. grocery stores has travelled an average of 1,500 miles), it’s printed on recycled paper, and a portion of the proceeds go toward green causes.
