Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) December 14, 2011
Today, Greenopia released the updated version of its annual big-box retailer guide. Many retailers showed a substantial improvement over their results from past iterations of the guide. In fact, this 2011 update marks the first time that all 10 major retailers in the analysis received a score of at least 1 Greenopia leaf. The greenest major retailer for the fourth straight year, receiving 4 out of 4 Greenopia Leafs was Ikea. Retail giants Kohls and Best Buy were the next greenest, both receiving 3 out of 4 possible leafs.
Greenopias 2011 Green Retailer Guide is available exclusively on the GreenTowns website.
According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, the average holiday shopper spends over $ 400 in purchases. The products purchased by consumers during this period will likely have a significant impact on the environment.
This holiday season, we encourage consumers to do their shopping at retailers who are making a strong effort to be environmentally-conscious, said Gay Browne, Founder of Greenopia. Many consumers dont realize that there can be huge environmental differences between the various big box retailers. Our guide serves to educate them as to which ones are taking the biggest strides.
Greenopia used a comprehensive set of criteria to determine the ratings. Each company was contacted by Greenopia to provide information for this study. Data from publicly disclosed documents and credible third-party sources such as the EPA was also used in determining the ratings. The main areas of study included transparency, renewable energy sourcing, transportation fleet, stock, consumer take-back programs, and green building initiatives.
The single most surprising finding this year was the substantial amount of improvement exhibited by almost every major retailer over last year, said Doug Mazeffa, Research Director of Greenopia. The environmental strides retailers are taking today versus five years ago is just staggering.
Greenopia employs its award-winning eco-analysis method to deliver actionable green-assessments to the rapidly growing green consumer market. Green businesses and merchants use Greenopia’s targeted marketing methods to effectively reach consumers making greener choices.
About Greenopia: The leading online directory for green, sustainable, and socially conscious, daily purchase decisions. Greenopia provides the market’s only independent rating and ranking of green services and products. Greenopias guides have been featured in media outlets such as USA Today, CNBC, Fox News, NY Times, Yahoo!, AOL, Reuters, The Economist, Newsweek, and many other major media publications. Our rankings and ratings are based on our review of publicly available information and reflect our evaluation of such information. To find out more, please visit http://www.greenopia.com.
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Shopping Green Made Easy This Holiday Season with Greenopias 2011 Environmental Major Retailer Guide is a post from: Merchant Services