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Monday, 18 May 2009 |
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After my mention of Flip & Tumble (see below), the lovely team sent me a free sample (hot pink). Can I just say, this is the best little must-have, never-forget, compact, clever eco bag ever? It is a total cinch to fold and is strong as an ox. When will someone in the UK start stocking these babies?
Based on the overwhelming success of the write-a-blog-get-a-freebie tactic, you can now look forward to my upcoming blog on the eco-friendly aspects of four-bedroom period homes with views over Hampstead Heath.
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Saturday, 16 May 2009 |
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 Has your local MP got her hand in the cookie jar or his snout in the trough? It may not seem like the best time to email him or her about renewable energy, but think again they'll be desperate for ways to appease angry voters.
The 'Energy Revolution' campaign from Friends of the Earth (this week's Website of the Week) asks us all to contact our MPs to ensure the UK government's Renewable Energy Strategy (to be published in June) is an 'Apollo-style', ambitious strategy that will aim to make renewables the number-one source of energy in the country.
With the economy in freefall, it may seem counter-intuitive to spend money on renewables, but the advantages are obvious: in the short term, jobs and business stimulation; in the long term, energy independence and cheaper energy (as oil runs out and prices rise and without the clean-up costs of nuclear waste).
Find out more at Friends of the Earth and contact your MP. You may have a few other things on your mind you'd like to share while you're at it. Meanwhile I'm off to see In the Loop. Used to think it was fiction, didn't we?
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Friday, 01 May 2009 |
 My Favourite Finds for May will help you shop smarter. Why am I going on about shopping in the middle of a global financial meltdown just to rub it in that the halcyon days of careless (and carefree) retail therapy are finito? 
No. Even though you may not be putting the plastic through its paces as in days of yore, I guarantee you're still buying something, at least food (unless your allotment's significantly bigger than the one we've been on the waiting list for these past two years).
Step 1: Don't drive to the shops for a big weekly shop. Which leads to Step 2: Only buy as much as you can carry. When you're on foot you're keenly aware of your limits (even if you do want to build up those biceps).
Speaking of biceps, smarter shopping also comes in handy if you've had to sacrifice your gym membership. Combine low-impact fitness and low-impact shopping by walking to your local independent shops.
Keep wrists happy with these colourful Flip & Tumble bags. Cute as a button (and only slightly larger) they're perfectly transportable and definitely unforgettable (unlike those other reusable bags gathering dust in your cupboard). You can easily fit several in your bag to be whipped out at the till.
UK ecomaniacs love a trusty trolley, so don't miss the colourful selection of green (in some cases, literally) ones from Funky Shopping Trolleys.
Steps 1 and 2 lead to Step 3: Buying smaller amounts really cuts back on your food waste. For inevitable (and inedible) peelings and those just-can't-face-those-leftovers-again moments, try composting. Get top tips from this week's Website of the Week, Compost Awareness Week 2009.
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Friday, 24 April 2009 |
 It's time to get your social life out of hibernation and ready for summer. Think I can't be serious what with the recession, climate chaos and a global pandemic on the horizon? Well, I can't help with the third problem, but the first two are sorted, party-wise: parties don't have to cost a fortune or the earth.
Instead of fretting about the food or getting into a frenzy of
flower arranging, just relax and go for it! Your real friends care more about quality time with
you, and if they're like our mates with young children, they'll
be effusively grateful for any excuse to get out of the house for some
(grown-up) fun.
Most will bring a bottle along too, so your
initial splash-out gets paid back in part (and the goodwill? Priceless). If you're really strapped, host a
'covered dish' party where everyone brings along some nibbles. And if any so-called friends turn up their noses, well that's all the more reason to widen your social circle.
You needn't splash out on fancy invites either. That said, you want something nicer than a text to alert your pals
to the upcoming festivities.You'll be the host or hostess with the mostest with snazzy, paper-free and best of all, free!
invitations and announcements from pingg. Send out via email, SMS, a custom web page or through your social network sites. You can also send printed invites, for an additional cost.
 They're not just green, they're cute as a button, with colourful illustrations, slick photography and sleek designs. Just select a style and input your
party's details. There's a huge range of invites, for cocktail
parties, birthdays, baby showers even weddings.
Pingg's not just a pretty face: the site works like your own private PA (hands up, fellow "Oops: left my diary at home again" types). Pingg helps manage your guest list, track the RSVPs, even send
out reminders to guests near the date. Meanwhile you'll have oodles of time to plan the party's music playlist (or obsess about your outfit).
We've just set a date for a little get-together (17th of May you nosy parker, so keep an eye on your inbox) and I'm starting my pingg invite now. I've also made pingg my Website of the Week. No jibes about the ethics of blogging about freebies remember, it's free for everyone!
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Wednesday, 01 April 2009 |
 I truly hope the G20 protests today go well. In what sense? I hope no one is injured and yobs don't steal all the attention from legitimate protesters and their very serious messages for President Obama (still get a thrill saying that!) and the rest of the world's leaders. (If you can't make it, get in the G20 spirit with these snazzy organic 'Obama pants' from Twisted Twee, right). 
I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the protest groups today will be the Stop the War Coalition. I was at the original Stop the War march in February 2003 (left with baby, who looks oddly bored in the hubbub), not
that anyone took our very excellent advice at the time. Unfortunately I won't be there today, sheathed in glory (and an organic scarf) scaling walls or holding up placards for the camera crews. I've no exciting get-out-of-demo-free
note either, just banal excuses: a sick child home from school and a
hospital appointment (nothing too serious, thanks). Still, not exactly the stuff of which eco warriors are made, is it?
 Our family has attended enough protests for our six-year-old to include a Demo chapter in her autobiography for school (she's less bored of it these days), but of late I wouldn't earn any A* grades. I didn't even make Saturday's G20 protests. I was just across the river, minding my friend Mikala Djorup's jewellery studio and shop in Gabriel's Wharf while she was out of town. (Mikala makes gorgeous jewellery, including new experimental work in sustainable materials such as cardboard and this spectacular flower brooch made from bubble wrap, right.)
 I also missed the pivotal Campaign Against Climate Change march on 6 December, being en route to Aberdeen to attend my godson's Christening. At least I was on a train instead of a flight, so did eight hours' penance each way (though I really enjoyed the 'me time'). Still, must do better. I've just been invited to the International Day of Climate Action (24 October). Perhaps if I pencil that in now, I'll actually make it on the day.
If protests aren't really your thing, at least go see The Age of Stupid (no rain, pesky riot police or embarrassing YouTube footage; just a comfy chair and popcorn). I've seen the film and it's a real call to action; on Radio 4's Today programme, Richard Curtis even said it should be 'essential viewing' for Obama). At least no matter how serious today's protests get, London won't look like it does in the film (above) but if international governments don't act soon, it just might one day.
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Thursday, 26 March 2009 |
 Thanks, Treehugger for the blog love. Click here to find out more about all the other luvvies this week:
and yours truly.
And don't miss Leonora Oppenheim's fabulous and informative slideshow from our trip to Ethiopia.
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Sunday, 22 March 2009 |
 Today (Sunday 22 March) kicks off World Water Week. It's also Mothers Day in the UK. What do
these have in common? Around the world water issues affect women most
of all. In most of the developing world, water is traditionally the responsibility of
women. Women and girls spend up to eight hours
each day collecting water, leaving them little time or energy for
school, household chores or a paid job.
So this Mother's Day, why not reach out to mothers around the world, with a donation to WaterAid. And if you're a mum, no moaning about limp flowers or chocs that aren't your favourites (for the record, I don't care for fruity centres). Believe me, these mums won't moan if you give them a gift from the sH2Op for Life
such as two tap stands for their village pump (just £12). Coming soon: my report on my eye-opening travels to Ethiopia with WaterAid and Ecover.
In the meantime, take a closer look at this week's Website of the Week: WaterAid's Tap into WaterAid scheme for UK restaurants, cafes and bars, making it easier than ever to help the 884 million people worldwide without safe water.
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Thursday, 19 March 2009 |
 My ' Hot Houses' blog on property porn seems a long time ago now. Like me, you may still feel the odd twinge as you rifle through the ads, mags and websites, but the reality of the property bust has cooled our lust. It's like the moment a gent realises his favourite pinup's not real: fake chest, fake lips, fake hair oh, sorry, bad analogy; most XYs don't actually care. Anyway, the glossy illusion of property heaven has evaporated, revealing the hell of negative equity and looming repossession. Just as well: our cravings for bigger, shinier, more obscenely indulgent homes were out of line with the planet's limited resources. 
Now, instead of hankering after what you can't have, it's time to make the most of the home you're in. Think of it as cosmetic surgery (without the troubling philosophical dilemmas), especially in the mantra that less is more. Instead of a scorched-home policy, try the light touch. The easiest (and most earth-kind) way to freshen up your home without going overboard is a fresh lick of (eco-friendly) paint like Beckers (left), my Favourite Find for March.  Try a new coat of paint, cue up Tom Waits on the music system (or tickle the ivories on your own customised piano: Beckers has some wild ideas, right) and laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky.
Another easy trick is to whizz up some new cushion covers. I know, I was very snooty about SIY (sew it yourself) but perhaps I was a bit hasty. It's not clever to crow about your ignorance or dearth of skills (especially in the current mend-and-make-do mood of thrift and self-reliance). I'm suitably humbled and have asked a  friend for a few lessons on her sewing machine. Will I be opening my own fashion boutique? Now you're being too hasty, but if I can turn up my kiddies' trousers and magic up some presentable cushions, I'll hold my head high.
Go one step better by choosing organic fabrics to tart up your pad: see the list below. And don't sniff at extras such as buttons and trims, a handy way to liven up a cushion or skirt without spending a fortune (and if you're re-using old buttons or ribbons that have been lying about for yonks, even better). 
Harlands Organic Furnishings has a great selection of organic fabrics, many made in the UK. It's a step above many organic fabric collections, with fresh colours and patterns, like this hand-printed organic cotton from Les Indiennes (above).
Mod Green Pod (right) has sleek printed fabrics in gorgeous contemporary styles (made in US but stocked at Harlands).
Hemp Fabric stocks a big selection of cool neutrals that are all-natural.
Draper's Organic has gorgeous fabrics and cushions covers (if you find you don't have the knack or the time to SIY.
Near Sea Naturals They obviously stock the natural look and pale seaside colours, but I'm a sucker for their deep scarlet sateen organic cotton.
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Wednesday, 11 March 2009 |
 Mandy may seem a tad slimy at times, but did he deserve the green custard treatment administered by Leila Deen of Plane
Stupid?
Leila said it was payback for Lord Mandelson's machinations (schmoozing with businessmen and bullying the cabinet) to smooth the way for approval of Heathrow's third runway.
Protests have a long and glorious history of bringing about change, but with stunts like this there's a risk the cause won't be taken seriously by politicians or the public (whom environmentalists urgently need on
side). Mandelson was silky smooth as ever, stating "I am prepared to
take my fair share of the green
revolution on my shoulders but I am less keen on having it in my face." Gordon Brown even managed a lame duck's lame joke, which isn't really where we need to
be at this urgent time. Still, it's got people talking. No word yet on whether Leila will be charged (assault with a deadly dessert?).
If you're wary of getting your hands dirty, try the old-fashioned method of getting your message heard. Write to your MP, local councillor, MSP, MEP, etc. If you don't know who's who visit Write to Them, this week's Website of the Week, which gives you the straight skinny on how to contact your representatives.
Friends of the Earth's Press For Change page encourages this response to a range of causes. The Building up the Pressure campaign suggests you write to encourage your MP to stick to the government's promises for a strong and sustainable Renewable Energy Strategy. The government will publish its new strategy in May so start typing!
If typing earnest missives just doesn't scratch your activist itch, but you're not quite at the custard stage, indulge your passion for protest at the family-friendly We CAN Rally for Young People to ask for Climate Action Now, at the Houses of Parliament 23 March (5-6pm). Note: you may be frisked for green-coloured foodstuffs, so pack your picnic carefully.
Whatever method you prefer, protesting isn't as easy as it looks. I played Leila Deen... The
Custard Queen and after amassing an adrenaline-fuelled score I accidentally slimed a green activist, ending up in the red.
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Sunday, 01 March 2009 |
 In today's (enforced) austerity movement, people are quick to embrace the mend-and-make-do aesthetic, though as I insisted in my Sew You Say? blog, I'll start sewing when I spy real men giving it a go, not just cartoon characters (though this did make me chuckle thanks, Viz).
It's not that I can't appreciate the talents of textile gurus, fashion designers and even self-styled seamstresses. In fact, I'll even suggest interested parties visit Textile Footprint, Textile Forum South Wests conference on 21 March at Somerset College of Arts and Technology in Taunton. The conference will explore the
issues surrounding the ethical,ecological and sustainable use of
materials. Don't miss keynote speaker Kate Fletcher (author of Sustainable Fashion
and Textiles) and the other speakers including the fabulous Jenny Ambrose
of ethical fashion label Enamore.
If you're in doubt about the importance of the ecological footprint of textiles, take a look at my blog on the US cotton industry.
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Tuesday, 17 February 2009 |
 We spent Valentine's Day at Spitalfields City Farm. Before you say romance is dead, let me remind you it was Love an Animal day (not a phrase you want to Google, by the way). I was pleased that my extremely urban children were able to get close to some cute goats, but alarmed to see some pretty scruffy hens.
"They're pecking each other to death!" I cried, disturbed that the farm would keep these henpecked animals together.
Then I saw the poster informing visitors that these rescued battery hens were
're-coop-erating' from a very
hard (but typical) life. Battery hens are usually crammed into tiny cages with no
space for natural behaviours (stretching, flapping,
dust bathing, roosting or nesting). Instead, they get a bit neurotic, engaging in excessive feather pecking.
Luckily these hens are now on the
road to
recovery, and I was impressed by the farm's efforts to educate the public about the plight of farmed animals, including a booth from Compassion in World Farming. The passionate spokesperson handed out eye-catching pamphlets (left) that just might persuade more of us take responsibility for what we eat and let shops and supermarkets know we mean business by refusing to buy brands that use battery eggs. I decided to find out more about battery hens and discovered the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, which is this week's Website of the Week.
We loved Spitalfields City Farm's giant pig Itchy, and the mosaic wall, a great (re)use of old china plates and pottery. Beside that wall I spotted The Ecoworrier's Guide by Mike Barfield (below), definitely worth a closer look.
Unfortunately the crowd wasn't exactly thick on the ground. Times are hard for local city farms, which rely on the dedication of volunteers and could certainly use your support (time or donations) and your presence at events and fundraisers. Find your nearest city farm at the Federation of City Farms.
City farms are a valuable and vital resource, providing a link to the natural world for city folks who don't exactly have mud under their fingernails. They can also help children understand the link between food and animals, and perhaps encourage them to think twice about what's on their plates and to be more sensitive to the importance of compassionate farming and animal welfare.
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Thursday, 05 February 2009 |
 "Give me a minute, I'm just going to make some sandwiches," calls my husband before weekend outings with the children. I usually
feel a slight ping of annoyance (we could just pop into a sandwich shop or cafe, no?) but of course he's right. It makes good planet
sense (and cash sense) to bring your own, avoiding over-packaged
sarnies and cartons or bottles of drink.
It requires a little patience and forward planning, but are we
losing the knack? With cashpoints and shops open 24/7, our lives are more convenient than ever, but also leave a trail of discarded plastic and paper packaging. An old-fashioned picnic can save you cash and save the planet, one plastic bottle at a time. Check out my Favourite Find for February, carry-along drink bottles that will help reduce your planet impact.
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Wednesday, 28 January 2009 |
 Yesterday I attended Wedding Ideas magazine's Wedding Awards (thanks, team Giraffe!) and I'm all aglow with visions of white dresses (and white chocolate fountains) dancing in my head.
I often find myself having to defend weddings from hard-core Grinches (of green or other hue) who love to have a pop, whether their beef is saving money or saving the planet. Weddings are an easy target who can defend some of the outrageous excesses: meringues the size of Malta, Coleen's £200,000 gown, Katie Holmes's $3000 lingerie. And big budgets don't always guarantee a happily-ever-after: let Liza Minnelli's 12-tier wedding cake be a lesson to you.
The thing is, if you take 50 friends out to dinner, it's going to cost you, even if your Aunt Mary and the local WI put on the buffet. What do these wedding-phobes suggest a five-guest limit? (Talk about squabbling with the future in-laws over the invites.) Or should bride and groom just scarper off to the local register office and text friends and family once the deed's done? You'd certainly save a bundle, not to mention the carbon savings, but is that really the aisle we want to head down?
After all, do you think the party poopers would stop at weddings? They'd quickly move on to the carbon-guzzling birthday parties, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, anniversary dinners, baby showers and all those wasteful holidays: Christmas, Chanukah, and Eid ul-Fitr for a start (all that feasting, tsk tsk). Would the fun-loathers (green or otherwise) be satisfied once we could greet each day with no more anticipation, enthusiasm or emotion than the next? Sure it'd be a tad grey, a bit mundane, but definitely more planet-friendly.
Alas, party bans never work. In the 1640s Oliver Cromwell
and the Puritans ixnayed Christmas. Cancel the frenzied fun, put the mince pies on ice, take down that holly and don't even think about presents. The ban was, of course, thwarted behind Ollie's back get real, would you rather party with the Puritans at a Bah Humbug-themed bash or join in the neighbours' raucous (if hidden) merrymaking?
The fact is, humans like to make merry, and anyone who tries to stop them will fail. The Christmas ban was revoked in 1660, and everyone brought the dancing, drinking and singing back into the open. We have an innate need to share life's important events, to mark occasions that happen once a year or once in a lifetime.
Plus, a wedding ban would mean no more wedding TV or films. OK, we could all probably survive without License to Wed, but many of us would miss the Muriels and Four Weddings of the future.
By all means focus on the big picture and keep things in check: just as you don't have to buy every new gadget for
your four-year-old's Christmas stocking you needn't spend twice your salary on your wedding. Keep an eye on the carbon cost too: don't fly to Milan for
dress fittings a la Liz Hurley (estimated carbon footprint of her nuptials: over 200,000kg). But celebrate the big day? I say
go for it. Even if that means simply inviting everyone down to the pub (where they buy their own drinks). Your friends just want to raise a glass to your happiness.
That's why I've chosen the Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show as this week's Website of the Week. Take a closer look for tips on having a memorable wedding day without sacrificing your values (or sacrificing style).
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Tuesday, 20 January 2009 |
 Logically I know that Barack Obama is not Superman or the Messiah.
I am aware that he cannot single-handedly transform America and the world. Yet some part of me does hope, does believe that he can. And millions or billions of people being capable of hoping and believing again? Well, that's half the battle.
And anyway, Obama's campaign slogan wasn't "Yes I Can" it was "Yes We Can". He never promised to swoop in, wave a magic wand and fix the world's ills. He told us we will all have to work together and even used the word 'sacrifice', a term banned from the campaign trail for decades (the only route to victory being to promise cushier lives and fatter wallets).
To channel all the good intentions into real results, the President-elect (I'll be dropping that 'elect' in three hours) has created the Renew America Together initiative, to rally Americans to commit to service in the community: volunteering in schools, at blood banks and at food pantries. And there's a renewed interest in AmeriCorps too. Maybe volunteering will become 09's leisure activity of choice, now that trudging round shopping malls doesn't seem quite so exhilarating (or appropriate).
So Obama never promised us a rose garden. But when he opens the side door of the Oval Office for a stroll through the White House's own Rose Garden, he will be thinking about his campaign promises and priorities, as he himself outlined in a June 08 Rolling Stone interview:
"If I haven't gotten combat troops out of Iraq, passed universal
health care and created a new energy policy that speaks to our
dependence on foreign oil and deals seriously with global warming, then
we've missed the boat... it's going to
require a lot of attention and imagination, and it's going to require
the American people feeling inspired enough that they're prepared to
take on these big challenges."
Are we all too gullible? If so, blame West Wing Syndrome we've all watched on the small screen as a principled President does the right thing but can it happen in real life? Obama may not be Superman, but when I spied him on the cover of Ms magazine my pulse did quicken (and not just for the usual reasons). The editors of Ms believe Obama will fight hard for equality and social justice. And I believe he's committed to protecting the environment, even if that means making radical, brave and yes, audacious decisions. Look again at the Ms cover. If this man can reclaim the f-word in today's America, in my opinion his feet don't touch the ground and today, mine won't either. Superhero? Maybe not. Hero? Definitely.
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Sunday, 18 January 2009 |
 Gordon Brown has got some splainin' to do. He can send out comedy punching bag Geoff Hoon (the buffoon, so easy to lampoon) to face the slings and arrows over the third runway at Heathrow, but the buck stops with Brown, who can never again speak with any credibility about green issues. "Expanding Heathrow... will shatter Gordon Brown's international reputation on the
environment," says Andy Atkins, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth. And Greenpeace Executive director John Sauven says the decision "will shred the last vestiges of Brown's environmental credibility".
Brown didn't pay the least bit of attention to any 'No Third Runway' protests. He took no notice of the ladies from Climate Rush (left), who held their Suffragette-style peaceful picnic protest 'Dinner at Domestic Departures' last week. He didn't clock the colourful paper aeroplanes from Do The Green Thing's Stay Grounded campaign (below). He didn't bow to pressure from protests by Plane Stupid or Campaign Against Climate Change. He didn't listen to the Conservatives or the Lib Dems or even take the advice of his own cabinet: Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, International Development
Secretary Douglas Alexander, Climate Change
Secretary Ed Miliband or Foreign Secretary David Miliband (watch this space when the dust clears after the next election). 
So will Brown sit up and take notice now that Greenpeace is involved? Instead of another protest, its Airplot initiative is taking a different tack, hoping to block the planning permission process, partly by causing so much legal paperwork, hassle and headache that the government will pack up its bulldozers and go (death by a thousand paper cuts).
Greenpeace UK has bought a plot of land right in the
middle of the new runway (or the village of Sipson, as it's currently known, which all villagers will be forced to
abandon). Greenpeace plans to resist all attempts of a compulsory purchase of the land, with help from Emma Thompson,
Alistair McGowan and Zac Goldsmith.
They've divided the plot into smaller plots and are now adding 'beneficial owners'' to complicate the planning process even more. Sign up and join people who care such as MPs, George
Monbiot and climate scientist Dr Simon Lewis (as well as my husband and me).
The Hoon-bashing continues: Geoff has even been banned from his favourite festival, the very
green Latitude. Fair enough, but remember Hoon is just
the messenger. We all know who really made this decision, and you can let the PM hear your opinions loud and clear on
Thursday 19th February (5.30-7pm) when the Campaign Against Climate Change brings the anti-runway message straight to Gordon's doorstep in Downing Street.
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