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One Less Plastic Bag |
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 If you
didn't get your hands on an Anya Hindmarch bag (right) –
or you did, but you're now too embarrassed to carry it (whether for
shame at your cut-throat consumerism or  worries about the bag's eco and
ethical cred) fear not. Here's a non-plastic bag that seems to have its
green ducks in a row – and you won't have to queue at dawn or line the
pockets of Ebay shysters to get it.
Onelessplasticbag (oneless.co.uk) is made from reclaimed sari fabric collected through 'Donate a Sari' campaigns run by ethical designer Sari UK.
Each bag  is made in Britain by homeworkers (using fair trade
principles) and folds neatly into its own pocket so you've no excuse to
leave home without it. Each design is unique, and the price (from
£8-12) proves that sweatshops aren't required for sweet deals. Oneless is a project of Krata,
a strategic consultancy working to develop
sustainable products for everyday life. Stockists.
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 Global Cool ( global-cool.com)
wants to "wake up the world about
the important issue of Global Warming.” With glamorous celebs such as
Leonardo DiCaprio and Sienna Miller on board, it would be easy to
dismiss this site
as just a bunch of pretty faces. Not so fast. It's a registered charity
and one of
only four offset agencies approved by DEFRA. The team hopes
its entertaining educational programmes will
inspire people to act. And if that means calling in a few favours
from the glitterati, so be it. All the folks working with Global Cool
must be on a personal carbon reduction
journey – no hip lip service please.
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Who Killed the Electric Car? |
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Director
Chris Paine – who actually owned an EV1 for five years until GM
confiscated it – feels passionately about his subject. He examines the
role of the car manufacturers, the oil companies and
the US government in keeping emissions-free cars off the market – and off the road. Now on DVD.
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Our consumer culture is unsustainable. The Primark Riot was just
an in-your-face example of the everyday hurly-burly of shop till you
drop. Yet
shopping as a leisure activity is the privilege of a
select few – the disposable income of Westerners depends entirely on
the 'disposable'
lives
of people in the developing world. Let's face it – bargains exist
because the sums don't add up: the workers don't get a decent wage, and
the price doesn't reflect the
ecological cost of transport. As an antidote visit waronwant.org.
“Bargain retailers are only able to sell at rock bottom prices in the
UK
because women workers in Bangladesh are being exploited,” says Louise
Richards,
Chief Exec. These
women are paid peanuts (often £8
a month). The better-paid
workers get 5p an hour for 80 hours a week. Think
twice the next time you're tempted by a bargain that seems 'too good to be true'. It probably is – at least for some.
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I get a kick out of Provokateur ( provokateur.co.uk). It's a kick in the pants, really, for all of us. All those cheeky, hard-hitting ads about flying and climate chaos
you've seen lately? Probably Provokateur. This buzzy, brilliant company provides
strategy, communication and branding for concerned organisations and
charities. Provokateur doesn't mince words, but uses them – and images
– to
great effect in bringing greenwashers to book. Its Acme
Campaign Kit (Global Warming Edition) is "everything you need to change
the world – in sticker form". The kit's going on sale around the country, or you can order direct by emailing
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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This week, visit ethiscore.org, Ethical
Consumer magazine’s online shopping guide. Start taking
responsibility for the choices you make as a consumer – and recognise
your power in the marketplace. Join up and see the ethiscore rating on
hundreds of
products, from broadband to baked beans, microwaves to marmalade, shoes
to
shampoo. The score (out of 20) includes ratings on corporate
responsibility issues such as animal testing and workers’ rights and a
product rating out of 5 on sustainability issues. Ethiscore also runs campaigns, such as the current one on factory
workers’ rights, so you can voice your concerns.
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Alliance Against Urban 4x4s |
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My first website of the week is The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s ( stopurban4x4s.org.uk), which educates 
on the environmental and social damage caused by these giant cars. I
know many people – especially parents – argue they feel safer in a
gigantic vehicle. Trouble
is, all us pedestrians on the
pavements can tell you we feel a lot less
safe with 4x4s barrelling through the narrow streets of our capital
(with or without bull bars). Download spoof parking tickets!
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