San Franciscans have already had a year to enjoy the Green Zebra Guide coupon book. We here in the East Bay wouldn’t know about that, since we’ve never seen that book ourselves, although we’ve heard tell of its exploits.

However, when we found out that a coupon book specifically for East Bay eco-minded businesses, organic food, restaurants, sustainable living services, and entertainment was on its way to our little forgotten corner of the bay, we called up the folks in charge and asked for a review copy.

So yes, we got The EcoMetro Guide for free, saving $20 off the bat. But for you dear readers, we will tally the extent of the savings below, so you can consider whether it’s worth the investment.

What you get:

The first 40+ pages of The EcoMetro Guide are a bit of a mishmash: Some interviews with local eco-minded folk, some basic advice on living the green life that perhaps you might peruse while riding the bus?

For us, it’s all about the coupons.

Unlike most other discount/savings circulars that arrive uninvited to our snail-mail box (no matter how many “Do Not Mail” forms we fill out), the coupons in this little book are for items we regularly buy. For example, in the Grocery section, there are discounts on brands such as Alvarado Street Bakery, Santa Cruz Organics, Strauss Dairy, Organic Valley, et. al.; and whole-bill discounts at stores large and small where we normally shop including Farmer Joe’s, Piedmont Grocery, Lakeshore Natural Foods, and Whole Foods.

The restaurant section includes deals on some of our favorite places including Venus in Berkeley, and B, Tamarindo, and Manzanita in Oakland, and for cool-kid independently owned cafes including Mama Buzz and Gaylord’s. The entertainment section is both family oriented with Chabot Space and Science Center and Fairyland two-for-ones, and all-grown-up with discount nights out at the Freight and Salvage, Shotgun Players, the Grand Lake Theater... The list goes on. Other sections of savings include Health & Style for clothing and human and pet care, Travel & Recreation for everything with wheels, Yard & Garden for the obvious, and a Home section featuring Ace Hardware coupons and even one from our favorite zero-VOC paint store, EcoHome Improvement.

So, our tally of savings for the first week -- doing our usual amount of grocery shopping while using the coupons (except, we admit it, we stocked up on pricy prenatal vitamins for the rest of our pregnancy because of the 20%-off coupon) has come to $44.25.

And, as the song goes, “We’ve only just begun...”

The publishers say the total savings available is in the thousands of dollars. Obviously, you’ll need to browse the book for yourself and see if the eco lifestyle discounted therein is you. We’re pleased to say we are COMPLETELY this book’s target market.

You can purchase the EcoMetro Guide at the following locations:

Alameda Natural Grocery
Berkeley Natural Grocery
Body Time (Two locations on College Ave Shattuck Ave)
Cactus Jungle
Crackerjacks
Cole Coffee
Earthsake
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
East Bay Hydrogarden
Ecology Center
El Cerrito Natural Grocery
Elephant Pharm (Berkeley and Walnut Creek)
Farmer Joe’s
Flooring Alternatives
The Food Mill
The Food Mill Farm'acy
Head Over Heels Gymnastics
Lawrence Hall of Science
Laurel Ace Hardware
Maribel
Mosaic Supply Studio
Namaste Yoga
O! Baby Baby
Pegasus Books
Pendragon Books
Piedmont Grocery
Rocky's Market
Savemore Market
Star Grocery
Tumble & Tea
UC Botanical Gardens
Walden Pond Books
Waterlilies
Whole Foods Market (Berkeley, Walnut Creek, San Ramon)

Deals are available for folks who want to use the book as a fundraising tool. Contact the publisher for details at 510-550-8280 or karla.kingsley@ecometro.com

image credit: allposters.com