Whole Life Times: Maxing Out For the Earth

January 2006 | Co-op America’s Living Green

Maxing Out For the Earth

Dear Co-op America,
I’m looking for a socially responsible credit card. Is there such a thing? —Linda Ganister, E-mail

That’s a popular question among our readers, and the good news is that yes, there are socially responsible credit cards available.

Many credit cards—especially those whose offers arrive most frequently in your mailbox—are issued by corporate mega-banks such as Citibank. The problem with these banks is that they may be using your fees and the interest you pay on your credit card balances to fund projects or enact business practices that aren’t in line with your values. For example, the nonprofit Rainforest Action Network is currently targeting mega-bank Credit Suisse First Boston for financing an oil pipeline on Russia’s Sakhalin Island that locals say is likely to decimate the island’s fishing industry and damage habitat of the endangered western gray whale. (For more on the problems with mega-bank credit cards, see our article “Responsible Credit Cards: Myth or Reality?” online at coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/.)

If you’d like to stay away from mega-bank credit cards, try these options:
• The Working Assets Visa Card (800.668.9253, workingassets.com) donates 10 cents with every purchase to your choice of one of 50 nonprofits. It offers a 9.9 percent APR with no annual fee. Working Assets also aims to serve as a progressive political force, dedicated to giving its customers the opportunity to speak out on critical issues through its action website, actforchange.com, and long-distance telephone program. Each month, Working Assets customers generate over 80,000 calls and letters to politicians on social and environmental issues, according to the company.

However, Working Assets Visa is issued by MBNA, which has made large contributions to the Republican party and has been accused by consumers of predatory practices.

• ShoreBank Pacific (877.326.4326, www.shorebankpacific.com), based in Ilwaco, WA, offers its Salmon Nation Visa card with a 12.9 percent APR and no annual fee. ShoreBank is a community investment bank, which means it exists to provide loans and financial services to low- and moderate-income people who are underserved by traditional banks, helping them lift themselves up economically. ShoreBank donates 50 percent of its income from the card to fund efforts to steward “Salmon Nation,” a bioregion stretching from Alaska to Oregon where wild salmon live. The card is not issued with a mega-bank, and you do not need an account with ShoreBank to get one.

• Oregon’s Albina Community Bank (503.287.7537, albinabank.com), also a community investment bank, offers its “Scholastic Plastic” Visa card with an 11.99 percent APR and no annual fee. One percent of every purchase goes to Portland schools. The card is not issued with a mega-bank, and you do not need an Albina account to get one.

• Based in Ithaca, NY, Alternatives Federal Credit Union (877.273.AFCU, alternatives.org) offers a Visa credit or debit card to its members with 9.5-14.5 percent APR and no annual fee, and is not connected to a mega-bank. Anyone in the US can take advantage of online banking and become a member of this community investment credit union.

Living Green is brought to you by Co-op America, a national nonprofit that provides green living, purchasing, and investing tips and resources. To join and get a free copy of the National Green Pages™ directory of green businesses, call 800.58-GREEN, coopamerica.org. E-mail Living Green questions to [click to e-mail].

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: