Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

Where you shop makes a difference. Retailers have different policies about stocking eco-friendly goods, recycling old products, building their stores in environmentally responsible manners, and the efficiency of their supply chains.

How do you know which retailers are greenest? Don't worry, Greenopia did the work for you. Their list of Green National Retailers examines 10 of the biggest chains to find out how they rank on the environmental scale.

The result? According to Greenopia, the three greenest big-box retailers are Ikea, Best Buy and Kohl's. Ikea gets nearly half of its energy from renewable resources, while many of their products are made from sustainable resources. Best Buy has a great electronics recycling program, while Kohl's has been a leader in building energy-efficient stores.

The lowest-ranked of the ten chains were JC Penney, Sears and Costco. That doesn't mean that they're bad, but they aren't as good as some of the others.

Greenopia does recommend shopping at local, mom and pop stores when you can (something that we at Green Hands USA heartily echo), but if you're going to shop at a big retailer, make sure you shop at the greenest one available.