the possibility of their stocking the green materials listed in the directory. Some expressed strong interest in ordering them, in exchange for being promoted as the green building centres in Toronto. The plan was to locate small computer kiosks in the retail stores. Consumers who wanted to find the right green product for their particular job would thus have the entire green materials database accessible in a user-friendly format. At least one of the building centres was also eager to become an educational centre, featuring how-to workshops using environmental materials. The fact that these goals have not been realized in Toronto in no way discredits their feasibility. The projects never failedthey were simply not implemented, as environmental and c.e.d. groups were put on the defensive over the next several years by a conservative government driven by a slash-and-burn corporate brown industry agenda. Over that time, a surprising number of green alternatives were established incorporating elements of community consumerism: the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-op (TREC), Toronto AutoShare, and a number of food-related initiatives connecting rooftop and community gardening, affordable nutrition for the poor, local farmers markets, etc. But opportunities in the realm of green markets for building materials have still not been exploited, despite some abortive efforts (notably one by the Design Exchange) to make a directory of green building materials available.