Finding green contractors and service providers isn't hard. Look in any telephone book, do a search for "green contractors" online, or open any advertisement flyer sent to your house these days and see that eco-friendly service providers are everywhere. "Eco-friendly products" are used by cleaning companies, "organic lawn services" are advertised on CraigsList, and duct-cleaning companies claim to be mold-certified and use "non-toxic sanitizers" that won't harm air quality in your home.
The recent growth of green home improvement and home maintenance contractors is driven not just by eco-friendliness on the part of the owners, but by dollar signs: green is good (apologies to Gordon Gekko). So many companies have included environmentally-friendly language in company advertising and marketing materials, though, that a backlash term has emerged: greenwashing.
Watch Out For Greenwashing
Greenwashing occurs when a company repackages a regular service as green. How do you, as a consumer, separate the "green" from the "greed"? Turn to your neighbors.
The Internet hasn't just made the world smaller. It's made our neighborhoods closer, and companies more accountable. Don't like the way you're treated by a siding company's foreman? Within an hour, you can have two different negative reviews uploaded and ready for Google to index and include in searches of the company's name.
Finding green contractors who are good, reliable, and offer a great value versus those with shoddy business practices comes down to finding the right home improvement review sites. Home improvement reviews give you an advantage: real customers writing about real companies who provided real services. Where can you find green contractor reviews?
Review Sites for Green Contractors
HomeStars.com is a free site where people can read and write reviews on home improvement contractors and home retailers, and it has a section devoted to reviews for Green Products and Services. At HomeStars, consumers write product reviews and give a narrative (not just a rating system) to share their experience--good and bad--with various green companies. From green architects to home product recycling stores, you can read consumer experiences on this site.
Angie's List is another site that includes green reviews, although the site is a subscription site. Green products and contractors are reviewed by consumers on Angie's List for more than 125 cities in the United States.
As if HomeStars.com and Angie's List weren't enough, there are more sites with product and service reviews on green living. User-generated reviews let people in your area provide opinions on green providers.
More Organic and Green Review Sites
SustainLane.com is all green, all the time: a site devoted to green living through product and service reviews. Need an eco-friendly house cleaning service in Berkeley? What about an organic gardener in Wellesley? SustainLane is one source for highly-local, specific reviews.
Finally, check out the ubiquitous Yelp.com, a jazzy, fun site that began as a hip source for restaurant and nightclub reviews but has quickly spread to include home and garden, "green" providers, and more. If you're looking for a store that sells, say, fluorescent lighting, but have a particular style in mind, Yelp can help you avoid a wild-goose chase. You can send the store information and directions directly to your mobile phone, saving you time and allowing you to collect a series of stores worth checking out.
Hiring a Contractor from an Online Recommendation
So you've checked the review sites and read through reviews from people in your neighborhood or region who have used various green contractors and retailers. Armed with your new knowledge, it's time to get estimates. But wait!
Just because you're using "new media" to do your research doesn't mean you should ignore old-fashioned footwork. Go to the Better Business Bureau and check any complaints made against companies. Do a quick Internet search engine search of the company's name; you never know what might come up. Ask Mom if she has heard anything about your companies; ask the office gossip. If your mom IS the office gossip, um, sorry. Everyone now knows that you slept with a stuffed animal until you were twelve.
At any rate, finding green contractor reviews, sorting the good from the bad, and calling for estimates is good, due diligence that will help you in the long run to find quality home improvement specialists, good value, and a great result as you reaffirm that green is, indeed, good.
Go one step further in being green: used building supplies. Buying from recycled material dealers is a great way to save money and the earth's resources.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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