FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GENERAL

Q: When was GREEN GUIDE started?

A: Originated as a newsletter in 1994, and expanded into a web site (thegreenguide.com) in 2002, GREEN GUIDE was acquired by National Geographic Society in March 2007.

Q: Where is the GREEN GUIDE based?

A: National Geographic Society is headquartered in Washington, DC, but has offices in New York where the GREEN GUIDE is based. The addresses are:
National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-5688

National Geographic Green Guide
432 West 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10036

Q: What is the purpose of GREEN GUIDE?

A: Dubbed the “green living source for today’s conscious consumer”, the GREEN GUIDE makes living in an environmentally-aware way easy, understandable, and practical. Intended for general consumers, GREEN GUIDE (in print and on the web) shows people how to make small changes that add up to big benefits for their wallets, for their health, and, of course, for the health of the planet. Not political or activist, the GREEN GUIDE is chock-full of simple, useful, ideas, broken down into achievable steps, that make going green a gradual and affordable process rather than an all-or-nothing plunge.

Q: How may I submit a question to the research team?

A: To ask specific questions about the health, safety, environmental or social impact of the products you choose or an everyday behavior or lifestyle decision, Just Ask! The Green Guide.

Q: May we send product samples?

A: Please do not send samples to the GREEN GUIDE research team as it does not guarantee they will review or recommend the product. Instead, send product information by e-mail to editor@thegreenguide.com.

Q: Why did GREEN GUIDE launch a magazine?

A: People learn in different ways. Many prefer to get information from magazines. GREEN GUIDE staff carefully considered just the sort of magazine that would adequately inform and engage readers, while minimizing its overall eco-footprint. Making the magazine available digitally in Publishing Web Format, as well as in print and available on newsstands, publishing it no more frequently than quarterly, and ensuring the content was the sort of “keeper” content that readers would want to hold on to, return to over and over again, are just three ways by which we aim to be a responsible publisher.

Q: What paper is the GREEN GUIDE magazine printed on?

A: GREEN GUIDE selected a paper company (Verso Paper) and printer (Quad/Graphics) that share our sense of environmental stewardship. The Verso paper on which GREEN GUIDE is being printed carries the FSC Mixed Source Label, meaning the wood comes from Forest Stewardship Council-certified well managed forests, company controlled sources (meaning sources controlled in accordance with FSC standards, to exclude illegally harvested timber, forests where high conservation values are threatened, genetically modified organisms, violation of people’s civil and traditional rights and wood from forests harvested for the purpose of converting the land to plantations or other non-forest use), and/or recycled material. Quad/Graphics, based in Sussex, Wisconsin, has long been known for its environmental stewardship and social responsibility, garnering a long list of local, state and national honors, including the 2007 Wisconsin Going Green Award, the Rainforest Alliance's Sustainability Award and most recently the Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. EPA's Smartway Transportation Partnership for having prevented the emissions of 11,878 tons of CO2 - the equivalent of taking 2,332 passenger cars off the road.

Q: How often does GREEN GUIDE publish new content?

A: The GREEN GUIDE magazine is published 4 times a year, in March, June, September, and December. New content is added to the web site, thegreenguide.com, and a free e-newsletter, Green Guide to Go, comes out weekly.

Q: How can I get the GREEN GUIDE magazine?

A: The magazine is available for sale on newsstands as well as by subscription. Subscribers can choose a print subscription for $15 (Canada $C25, International $US25) or a digital subscription for $12. Print subscribers receive their issues through the mail, digital subscribers are provided 24/7 access to a web site where all the issues in their subscription are permanently housed. The added feature of an electronic issue is the ability to click through to articles and video links at thegreenguide.com web site and to other web sites for more information. Go to Green Guide Customer Service to subscribe. Or call 1-800-NGS-LINE.

Q: Can I order individual or bulk copies of back issues?

A: Yes. It is possible to order back issues of both the GREEN GUIDE magazine and the Green Guide newsletter (last issue published December 2007).

Back issues of the GREEN GUIDE magazine, print edition, are available for sale through Single Copy Sales at TCS (phone: 1-800-777-2800, fax 1-813-979-6685 and email ngs.single@customersvc.com). The digital edition of the magazine can be purchased at the Green Guide's Online Store.

Single print copies of the Green Guide newsletter (last issue published December 2007) are also available at the Green Guide's Online Store.

Find out about ordering bulk copies of the magazine by emailing greenguide@customersvc.com.

SUBSCRIBER FAQs

NOTE: Only a few subscriber FAQs are listed here. For a comprehensive set of answers to customer FAQs, go to http://www.greenguideservice.com.

Q: When will my first printed issue arrive?

A: Starting with the first issue of the GREEN GUIDE magazine in March 2008, the first issue you receive will be the current issue unless you subscribe within a month of the next issue being published, in which case, it will be your first issue. Expect three or more weeks for delivery of print issues.

Q: I never received a confirmation e-mail when I subscribed online. Did my order go through?

A: Many e-mail servers treat our automatically delivered e-mails as SPAM. When in doubt, check your credit card statement to see if the charge showed up. If not, then the order didn't go through and you should place your order again at www.greenguideservice.com or contact us by phone at 1-800-NGS-LINE.

Q: I want to subscribe, but am wary of doing so online. How do I know it's secure?

A: There are two ways of seeing that our site is secure. The first is through the URL. All of our subscription pages begin with SSL instead of WWW. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer which transmits private pages securely using cryptology. Another indication of security can be found in the lower right corner of the web page as a gold lock. A page with this icon guarantees data encryption. In fact, your information, such as credit card number is so secure, not even we are able to see it!

Q: I have a question about my subscription. Where do I go to get help?

A: For customer service, go to www.greenguideservice.com or contact us by phone at 1-800-NGS-LINE (1-800-647-5463) for the US and Canada or at +1 813-979-6845 for all other countries, or by email at greenguide@customersvc.com.

REGISTERED WEB USERS FAQs

Q: Do I have to register to use thegreenguide.com web site?

A: No. Thegreenguide.com web site is free. However, in order for visitors to use the Just Ask the Green Guide service, leave comments on blogs or review products, registering is required. You will be prompted to register on specific pages with these interactive features. Registering is easy and involves creating a user ID and password. None of this information is ever shared.

Q: I'm having trouble registering.

A: To register, click here.

Q: I don't know my username and password. Can you send it to me?

A: Click here to recover your username and password.

E-NEWSLETTER FAQs

Q: What is Green Guide to Go?

A: Green Guide to Go is GREEN GUIDE'S free weekly e-newsletter. It contains five briefs with links to new content to be found at thegreenguide.com.

Q: I've changed my email address. How can I continue to receive the e-newsletter?

A: To continue to receive our free weekly e-newsletter, please click here and update your contact information.

Q: I no longer wish to receive the e-newsletter. How do I stop receiving these emails from you?

A: Click on the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of an issue.

GREEEN GUIDE AT A GLANCE

Q: What is Green Guide at a Glance?

A: Green Guide at a Glance is an RSS feed to all the home page content.

Q: I am having trouble adding Green Guide at a Glance to my site. Is there a problem?

A: For any and all questions about the Green Guide at a Glance box not working on your site, contact your webmaster or web developer. Unfortunately, there's no way for us to know how your site works and what issues there are with it. What we can say, is that the Green Guide at a Glance widget does not work on all sites. It is a little bit of javascript and many services (like Myspace) do not allow javascript.