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Do the Green Thing |
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Walk to the beat of a different drummer. Do the Green Thing is a fun site with a conscience, powered by a host of creative people. Register (for free) and get two videos a month made by talented animators and  film-makers and the chance to document the green changes you're making and add to the site yourself.
The first Green Thing is to walk instead of driving. To help you take this step, they've got several  different ' Walkcasts', collections of music and words you can download to make your journey more pleasant. Contributors include John Hegley, Tracy Chevalier and Fiona Dunbar, and musicians Howie B, Alucidnation and Roger Eno. As an added touch, each month a different designer, artist or sculptor creates a green creature to represent that month’s Green Thing. This month, it's Pete Fowler's green beastie (above).
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Nigel's Eco Store |
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 Boy toys. A recent study by npower has found that the ladies are more likely to be 'keeping it green' than the laddies. The research showed that whilst men were impressed by big green gestures, they often wriggled out of the more mundane, day-to-day green tasks.
Sites such as Nigel’s Eco Store might help get the green message out to the guys. Sure the site has the requisite biodegradable bin bags and organic yoga wear, but you'll also find irresistible boy toys such as solar-powered lights for the shed, that bastion of manliness. [While you're in there, have a nose through 101 Things to Do in a Shed (right), but forget about winning Shed of the Year – voting for 2007 closed months ago. You can still catch a 'shed erection video' on shedblog.co.uk – though it wasn't quite what I was expecting, if I'm honest.] 
Where was I? Oh yes, the lovely Nigel. He knows that high-tech gadgets are usually energy guzzlers, so sells this wind-up Eco Media Player for guilt-free viewing of your favourite films and videos and an eco-friendly earful of your top mp3 tunes or even the humble radio. One minute's winding means up to 40 minutes of playtime; £169.99.
Nige knows going green doesn't have to mean turning into a stereotypical, sandal-clad beardy, so he stocks the 'Preserve' razor, made from recycled plastic yoghurt pots, an  ethical way to smooth, strokable skin; £7.99 for a set of four razors and a pack of five replaceable blades.
 Nigel even has sustainable stocking stuffers, like this wind-up Freeplay X-Ray torch, £29.99. After all, you can't imagine a real man (Cary Grant, George Clooney) whipping out an emergency torch only to find the batteries  had fizzled out. For your bits and bobs that do have batteries (iPod, phone, etc) pick up the Solio Universal Hybrid Solar charger, £54.99, (left) one of the most powerful solar chargers on the market.
Bookmark Nigel's Eco Store for your bloke's birthday and Christmas gifts. And don't miss the organic cotton, fair-trade boxer shorts. Manly yes... but I like it too!
Nigel's offering a discount to EcoManiacs: for 10% off on fab home furnishings, kitchenware, gadgets, toys and energy-saving devices, enter code AEM01 when buying online or quote 'Accidental EcoManiac Offer' when ordering by phone (0800 288 8970). *This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and ends on 20/10/07 – so log on now for early Christmas shopping!
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 Top of the class. By this week, you should be getting back into the swing of the school run (or walk). What better time to find out whether your child's school has joined the Eco-Schools programme. This scheme helps schools become more sustainable and encourages children to get involved in improving the school's environmental impact – as well as improving the school environment, with less litter, more plants and wildlife, better play areas, bicycle racks, and less traffic during school pick up and drop off. It could also reduce the school's bills by increasing energy- and water-efficiency. There’s even an award scheme to get everyone motivated. This sort of project can unite your school as a community, with students of all ages working together and with the teachers. Taking eco action fits right in with your child's schoolwork, as sustainability and environmental issues are now part of the National Curriculum.
If your school is already excelling in this area, encourage it to enter The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. If you need incentive, there's £20,000 of prize money on offer for the best use of sustainable energy. Closing date for entries is 4 December. For details click here
 And if your child is passionate about the environment, perhaps he or she should enter Defra's competition (in England) to find the next Climate Change Champions for 2007/08. Nine young people aged 11-18 will be chosen and will attend a European climate change expedition, meet senior Government and international representatives to discuss the issue, receive a digital camera to record their experiences and get £1,000 to organise a themed event at their school or within their community. Full details are available at Climate Challenge; deadline for entries is 9 November.
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 Too cool for school. It’s back to school time again, so your little ones will be needing supplies. Obviously we all need to cut back on consumption, but kids will always need pencils – and surely they’re more eco-friendly than every child sitting at a computer all day, especially when the pencils are from Remarkable.
Part of the problem with recycling in the UK is that there’s not enough market for recycled materials, meaning our plastic bottles get shipped across the planet to be recycled, or just buried (along with our worries about them). So long as we all still recycle with a smile, no one seems too anxious about tackling this growing problem. Clever folks such as the Remarkable team create a market for recycled materials, making the whole recycling process more feasible. They're keen to create fun and useful products, and believe  highlighting what an item was in its previous life creates positive PR for recycling and environmental issues.
The range includes pencils made from recycled plastic cups, CD cases, plastic boxes and packaging; notebooks made from juice boxes, recycled tyres and plastic boxes; even pens made from recycled car parts.
They also have colouring pencils made with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber and a huge range of 'grown up' eco-friendly office supplies at their sister site Remarkable Office.
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Open House London & Sponge |
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Trailblazers. The Sponge Sustainability Network (which researches and promotes sustainable development) has teamed up with Open House London (which promotes awareness of good design) to  bring us London Open House Weekend 2007, on the15th and 16th of September. Sponge has organised two eco-trails, showing off some of London's best sustainable design and construction, taking in the 'zero carbon' Tree House in Clapham and the landmark Siobhan Davies Studios near the Elephant & Castle (by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects).
There is a series of programmes preceding the event; to find out more, click here. Open House has a new pamphlet out, with tips on how to make buildings more green, and Sponge is promoting the green lifestyle with a three-year project co-funded by Defra.
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Compassion in World Farming |
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 A good egg.
Last night – ironically on a hen night – I met someone who works for
Compassion in World Farming
(CIWF). This organisation investigates problems
caused by intensive farming and campaigns for
better living conditions for farmed  animals. The EU is set to
ban battery cages in 2012, but now there's pressure for the ban to be overturned. CIWF's Chickens
Out! campaign aims to keep the ban in place, and its
Good Egg Awards rewards companies who sell only cage-free eggs and use only cage-free eggs in their products. Because my husband is vegetarian
(and does all the cooking) it was easy for me to switch to a meat-free
lifestyle when we moved in together. Unfortunately, last month I
discovered I'm anaemic, and along with iron pills I've added some meat
to my diet. Starting to eat meat again is awkward, as I am aware
of the ethical and ecological consequences of meat production, such as
methane emissions, pressure on land and water resources, plus
the issues of animal welfare (for more details see CIWF's Eat Less
Meat microsite). If you do eat meat, less is more – and of course, sourcing is key. Download the Guide to Compassionate Food Shopping
for helpful hints on decoding the labels so you can be
sure you're supporting ethical and organic farmers with high standards of animal
welfare.
 The Soil Association is currently celebrating Organic Fortnight (1-16 September) so now's the perfect time to take a closer look at the food you're buying and eating. The theme this year is' Wake Up to an Organic Breakfast', which sounds tempting – after last night, a fry-up would really hit the spot.
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Living Streets |
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 Take it in your stride.
As a pedestrian, I am guilty of my own brand of road rage –
at drivers who blaze through red lights (as witnessed twice tonight), drivers
who speed along residential roads (even when there’s a procession of young
children on the narrow pavements) and drivers who zoom down even the shortest
straight stretch like Lewis Hamilton, then squeal to a stop at the imminent intersection. Even my five-year-old rants about speeding cars. It's the effect of being a powerless pedestrian – your feelings of vulnerability quickly translate into anger at feckless, reckless drivers (safely ensconsed behind their steely crumple zones and cushy airbags).
Living Streets is bringing power to the pedestrian by making streets more people-friendly. Part of the plan is to encourage people out of their cars by incorporating walking into
daily routines – improving fitness as well as the environment (see the Walk to School and Walk to Work campaigns). If your little
ones are back to school next week, why not leave the car at home and turn the
school run into a school walk.
If you're a Londoner, visit the London Living Streets site, which strives to make the capital a more pleasant
place for people on foot. Its Green Man Campaign is petitioning for pedestrian phases (green men) at every junction with traffic lights. Sign up today and help make the streets safe (especially
for children and the elderly, who need that guaranteed car-free time to cross junctions).
Oh and don’t miss the Route Finder on WalkIt.com. Just plug
in your location and where you want to go and you get a walking route map with estimated journey time, calories burned and the CO2 saved compared with other means of transport. Now, if I walk to St James’s Park tomorrow, it’s 34-68 minutes depending on speed (but even with the children aboard their scooters, we’ll be at the top end of that range), I’ll burn up to 197 calories, and we’ll save .23 kg of
CO2 compared with the bus. But if it's as rainy as last week, you'll find us at the bus stop – or perhaps simply pottering about at home.
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A step ahead.
If you thought going green meant a life lived in Birks or
Crocs, think again. Step out in style – and in good conscience – in ethical
footwear from Beyond
Skin. Instead of frumpy flipflops, you can trip the light fantastic in sexy stilletos or
cheeky peep-toes in a rainbow of vibrant
colours. The vegan/vegetarian shoes are cruelty-free, with no plastic or animal products. No smarmy sweatshops either – the
shoes are stitched, lasted and finished by hand in a small, family-run factory
in East London. Materials range from man-made satin and suede to organic
cottons and recycled vintage fabrics.
Take a look at the hand-made-to-order
Sui Generis range, with sassy summer shoes, retro peeps and almond toe courts. There’s even a
bespoke wedding shoe service for those who want to celebrate in eco-friendly style.
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Website of the week is on holiday this week – and on strike.
We decided on a last-minute holiday in France, so I had planned
to recommend a ferry site. Unfortunately, the service wasn't up to
scratch – delays and a struggling engine meant we
limped into St Malo at 11pm rather than 7pm (and got not even a
complimentary cuppa for the hassle). At that hour, even the immigration
staff had gone home, not to mention all the taxi drivers, so we had to
queue with two tiny tots for ages for a lift to Dinard. Still, the big
issue for us was the stonking cloud of fumes billowing from the back of
the craft. When I return to London I will investigate further a ferry's
carbon footprint. Knowing there's an airport conveniently located in
Dinard only added salt to the wound, but I know we can do better than
that. Next time we'll Eurostar/train it – much less chance of our
almost-three-year-old going pale and whimpering "I'm not feeling well!"
halfway through the journey. Luckily a jacket potato fended off
disaster, but things could have turned very ugly indeed.
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Green Knickers |
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 Smart smalls.
If you’re feeling the urge to go green right down to your
undies,
Green Knickers
will provide an ecological and ethical foundation. And it's not just
for the ladies, as you can see (model images ©Ruth Richardson
Child).
Founders Sarah Lucy Smith and Rose Cleary-Southwood are passionate about their pants – and their principles. They use organic cotton and hemp, as well as
specially
designed manmade cellulose fibres and use responsible Azo-free dyers to minimise environmental
impact. Where possible they support local trade to minimise transport miles,
and elsewhere they use fair trade suppliers who respect the workers’ rights.
Sarah Lucy and Rose have also inspired me on my shopping
trolley dilemma (see my recent ‘Conscientious Consumerism’ feature) with their
idea to pimp their rides (they use trolleys and bicycles for moving
stock around London, right).
There’s a sale
on now, so don’t waste a mo. These pretty ‘Save the World’ pants (60%
hemp, 40% silk, handmade in the UK) are reduced from £26 to £18; the
men's boxers, originally £12, are now just £6.
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