GOOD magazine

Building Green's marketing guru, Lisa Walker, turned us on to Good magazine, which is woefully misnamed, as it is more than good... it's excellent. Good's philosophy revolves around "a passion for potential mixed with fierce pragmatism and creative engagement." 

Being San Franciscans, we were charmed by a story about Ross Mirkarimi, the San Francisco County Supervisor behind the city's ground-breaking ban on plastic grocery bags. Who knew, for instance, that the city of San Francisco spends $8 million a year picking plastic bags off of beaches and out of trees?  In the story, Mirkarimi acknowledges that the ban is "just a good first, small start," though an emblematic one. Although San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic grocery bags, others are poised to follow on with similar bans.

If you like Good as much as we do, you can do good by subscribing. 100% of your subscription fee is passed on to the charity of your choice. Yes, 100%.

Can I just say how much I love this magazine? It’s fairly new. The July/August issue is only their fifth.  It’s brilliant!  As a marketer and brand developer, I am totally jealous of their name. GOOD is published bi-monthly on recycled paper -- of course -- made from EcoLogo certified post-consumer fiber.  Plus the energy used to publish it is 100% carbon offset. It’s what is on those consciously-crafted pages, however, that is the real grabber. Each issue is a savvy, visually smart, totally hip and provocative little bundle of great thoughts, ideas and commentary. You’ll want to keep it around for the clever charts and stimulating graphics alone.  I learned more from one chart on the differences between Shiites and Sunnis than from all the books and articles I’ve ever read.  This month, the pictorial essay is all about water use – and what hogs we Americans are. (Wait, let me put on my surprise face.)  Their value proposition?  “GOOD is for people who give a damn.  It’s an entertaining magazine about things that matter.”  An annual subscription is $20 and every dollar goes to the non-profit of your choice.  It doesn’t hurt that Al Gore is an Associate Publisher. But it’s not fair to single out that one name on the masthead. There are plenty of kudos for talent, content and design to go around. Check it out online at www.goodmagazine.com.  Better still, grab a copy at your local newsstand.  You just can’t see all the charts and cool graphics online.  You will want to have a hard copy around for handy reference and all the meaty, nifty things you missed the first ten times you read it.  If you ask me, GOOD is great.