Have you ever thought of all the paper wasted by the magazine industry? Yeah, staggering thought isn’t it? Magazines are probably one of the least recycled paper products in existence.
Why?
Because they’re disposable by nature. Where do you buy magazines? On your corner newsstand, in the airport, and at the gas station…all places that aren’t likely to have recycling services. So where’s an eco-friendly, media-hungry consumer supposed to get their fix?
Come my friends, swallow the red pill and follow me into the rabbit hole — deep into the land of online-only magazines.
There’s just one problem…
…most online-only magazines majorly SUCK!
Many online magazines use flash to display their slick, page-turning animations. This makes them slow to load on your laptop or Kindle, difficult to navigate, and NOT easily shareable via social networks like Facebook or Twitter.
Luckily, there is a new-comer to the online only magazine world that is [thankfully] changing how that game is played.
Enter Green Lifestyle Magazine. GLM is the brainchild of its sister magazine, Organic Lifestyle Magazine‘s, creator and editor-in-chief, Michael Edwards.
While I could drone on and on about how incredible Green Lifestyle Magazine is, why don’t I just let them tell you?
“You may have heard print is dead. While we don’t think that this statement is entirely accurate, many print publications are attempting to transition to the digital format—but they aren’t doing it right! They try to make their magazines look like a print publication. Readers are forced to scroll from side to side and zoom in and out just to read the text.
The Internet is not something we are just “trying out.” It’s what we do. It’s where we live. Each page of Green Lifestyle Magazine is designed to fit your screen. No scrolling. No zooming. Just one click of a button brings you to the next page. It’s the easiest reading available on the internet.
Flash is great for video, but it is slow to load and text is blurry. Most of the other online magazines use Flash. Our magazine text is in HTML. It’s crisp, clean, and very light, meaning it loads fast, even for readers with low-speed Internet connections or cell phones.”
To sum it up, you might say that Green Lifestyle Magazine is one of the BEST online magazines in existence… period. No flash, searchable text, easy to read, 1 click page turning, and awesome content.
Check out issue numero uno of Green Lifestyle Magazine. This month’s theme is all about fair trade and labor rights. Scroll through the great feature articles, product reviews, and company highlights and you’re likely to find a familiar name… mine!
That’s right kids, I was so impressed with the idea of the first (and only) exclusively online green living magazine that was actually built FOR viewing on the Internet that I jumped at the chance to contribute.
For Issue 1, you’ll find 2 featured pieces with my name on them:
- Conflict Materials in Electronics
- Save Ourselves, Not the Planet
Oh and just to be clear, I don’t write this post just to showcase my own articles at GLM. I write this to share with you the awesomeness of Green Lifestyle Magazine that made me even want to write with them!
If You Still Like Flash-Based Online Magazines…
Hey, I won’t lie… the flash-based sites, while clunky, are very slick. And you know what? I still read some of them.
Some of my favorite green, flash-based, online magazines are:
- CTN Green (Consumer Trend News Green) – I’d imagine that name is pretty self explanatory, eh?
- CoCo Eco Magazine – This one’s all about eco-friendly fashion
- Organic Spa – This magazine is a print publication, but they also have a snazzy web version.
So what do you think of the new Green Lifestyle Magazine? If you read print magazines, which ones are your favorite and do you recycle them when you’re through perusing?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
