How can women help to make the world a greener place? By choosing environmentally friendly products, US entrepreneur Diane MacEachern told the Washington Post.
Given that American women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the markeplace, they have a lot of power at their disposal. And it's right there in their purse.
"Women can use that power in a way that can't be ignored," said MacEachern, who wrote a book, "Big Green Purse" and launched an accompanying web site to help women think about the way they spend money and the impact their spending has on the environment.
She said consumers are used to being told what to buy instead of telling companies what to make. "We can use the marketplace to put a bright green carrot in front of companies" to spur them to make more environmentally friendly products.
While men and women are increasingly looking for healthier products, research shows that women are usually making the choices about what to feed their families and what kinds of detergents to use.
So she's started a campaign on her site encouraging women to join the "One in a Million" initiative by pledging to shift $1,000 of their household budgets to green products and services. To date, over 5,000 people have joined the programme.
Thanks to the Women's Media Center for this story.
