New Edition of Vegan Cookbook Published to Meet Demand. Lancashire, UK.

In order to meet worldwide demand for her cookbook, Lancashire UK author Catherine Greenall has published a second edition of her vegan cookbook, ‘Vegans Can’t Eat Anything!‘ available now from Ingram distribution, booksellers, publisher Lulu and on-line retailers. The publisher and author apologise for the lack of availability of the first edition in some countries.

Catherine Greenall, as featured by BBC Radio Manchester, Lancashire Life, Lancashire Living, Ormskirk Champion and Mensa magazine, uses fresh, healthy, organic ingredients and the recipes range from regional Lancashire fare to international dishes. For example, ‘Bonfire Pie’ is based on a Lancashire dish eaten with pickled red cabbage on Bonfire Night and ‘Crispy Fried Tempeh and Vegetables in Indonesian Satay Sauce’ is based on a dish from Holland. The titles of the book and chapters originate from what some restaurants actually said when asked for their vegan options.

Catherine Greenall said “Many people are worried about heart disease, strokes and cancers. A vegan diet is excellent for reducing the risk of these diseases, for reaching and maintaining an ideal weight and improving general health. It is naturally high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in saturated fats.”

The meat and dairy industries use huge amounts of land and water and generate carbon emissions. This is one of the major contributors to global warming. Changing to a healthier diet not only improves health and reduces the risk of obesity but benefits the planet.

Available from: 

Ingram Book Company: http://www.ingrambook.com/retailers/default.aspx

Publisher Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/vegans-cant-eat-anything/7149029

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1409283852/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254925288&sr=1-2

I love trees and feel blessed to live in a house that is surrounded by them. Some are huge, majestic and noisy in wild, wintery weather. Some, like my recently planted crab apples, seem perilously fragile by comparison and very dependent on the wooden stakes that support them. It is autumn (fall) here in the UK and the native deciduous trees are quickly being stripped of their leaves by high winds and heavy rain, leaving their stretching forms silhouetted against the cool, grey skies.

Trees play such a large part in our lives. On a practical level, they are the lungs of the earth and they are each self sustaining eco-systems in their own right. On a more subtle level, they can be symbolic of many aspects of human life. I’ve used this idea to map out some ideas on maintaining sound sustainable business relationships.

Roots

Groundedness – Ensure that you feel centred before any business meeting. Take time out to breathe, stretch, be in your body before conversations that require you to contribute or make decisions. Work on methods to keep your cool and build these into your daily routine.

Trunk

Support – Keep a list of people in your mutual support network and maintain regular contact with them. Make it part of your routine to give to these people. You can give referrals, tips, a lift in your car, pointers to useful resources, etc.

Strength – Make maintaining your health and wellbeing a business priority as well as a personal one. You cannot function at your best with others when you are feeling under the weather.

Uprightness (integrity) – Know your personal and business values (qualities such as honesty, fairness, compassion, simplicity etc). Have these written down where you can refer to them often and where you can use them to make decisions.

Branches

Vehicles of communication – Review how you communicate with clients, colleagues, employees and associates. Decide what needs to change, what needs freshening up, what needs to be stopped.

Flexibility – Make a point of asking for and listening to new ideas. Respond to complaints with curiosity and an open mind. Recognise the gift in the opinions of others. In particular, think of objections as opportunities to improve your service to others.

Growth – Look at your business relationships as a reflection on where you need to develop. Particularly think of the relationships you’re finding challenging. Make a note of what these tell you about yourself.

Reaching out – Make a note of what you currently do to “meet people where they are”. Check up on your clients’, suppliers’ and colleagues’ understanding of your business purpose. Aim to improve your methods for educating them on your offering and the benefits it will give them.

Leaves

Relationship with (sun)light – Ponder on how you relate to your spiritual nature. Notice how that shows up in your business life, if it does at all. Make a point of using your intuition in your communication with others as well as your knowledge.

Nourishment – Ensure that you nourish your business relationships. You can do this by providing encouragement, practical support for others and inspiration. Remember also to provide yourself with regular doses of inspirational material.

Flowers

Beauty – Take some time to notice what is beautiful about your business and the people who are involved with it. Work on those elements that attract most clients to your business. Notice what keeps them hovering around. Use those strengths to under promise and over deliver.

Gratitude – Make space each day for expressing your gratitude to those with whom you work. This focuses people’s attention on their strengths and their successes and helps them to empower themselves to achieve even more.

Fruit and Seeds

New life – Get together with others to start a new project or joint venture or rejuvenate an old one. When dealing with others in your profession or trade, focus on cooperation rather than competition, co-creation rather than power struggles.

Congratulations! – Celebrate your successes with those who helped you.

© Sally Lever 2009. http://www.sallylever.co.uk/

Sally Lever works with those who aspire to live more simply and with less stress or who are running sustainable small businesses. She offers one-to-one coaching by telephone and email, workshops for groups and writes a blog.

The Asian Inspired collection Couples Quality and Design with Environmental and Ethical Conscience.

The first stationery collection from Betty and Betts launches this month and not only are the hand-made notebooks 100 percent eco-friendly and 100 percent organic, they are also 100 percent ethically produced through genuine trade partnerships with Indian suppliers certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO).

The collection is anchored by the trademark “BETTY BOOK”, a soft-backed, hard-wearing, high-quality board and organic covered notebook that is perfect for school-kids, students, young professionals, business people, and anyone with a need to make a note.

Betties latest campaign is called BUY ONE PLANT ONE. For every book you buy £1 of it will go back to panting a tree for reforestation and environmental education. The second campaign is BUY ONE GIVE ONE. For every book you buy £1 of it will go back to giving a child a much needed school-book for their education.

Betty and Betts founders, JoJo Blythen and Tanya Clarke from Daventry, UK, established the brand after living in India for almost four years and seeing the desperate poverty surrounding them every day. Between them, ‘The Betties’ have nearly 20 years of experience in design and retail management, across the UK and India.

According to ‘The Betties’: “Betty and Betts was founded on the belief that help should be given through genuine trade, not through aid. We passionately want to effect the way business exists, enabling people to change the world they live in by being radical pioneers for people and the environment”. By partnering with WFTO suppliers, they will plough 50 percent of the profits back into local communities, providing them with much needed schooling, AIDS awareness, and health care.

All Betty and Betts products are available in A4, A5, A6 and in slim Flip back sizes, priced from £5.99 and will be available from 1st November 2009 online at www.bettyandbetts.com and in select retailers. For more information, log onto www.bettyandbetts.com

Reports on the Credit Crunch have indicated that it is affecting women in employment more than in previous downturns.  New website Mothers of Innovation (http://www.moixx.com/) aims to be an antidote to recessionary gloom and a breath of fresh air for working women and mothers in the UK.

Founder Sarah Dawnay, set up Mothers of Innovation after she was made redundant from her  job; with the only available earning options seeming to be corporate roles which make no allowance for women with young families or pyramid selling schemes that were either patronising or expensive, Sarah turned to her own initiative. She says “As a Mum I had already come up with a great design for my little girl when she needed a coat but hated  putting one on – and I realised that there must be many Mums like me, who have great ideas and skills but who just lack an appropriate way to get their products to market; thus Mothers of Innovation was born!”

Sarah is determind that out of her redunancy she will build not only a new career for herself but  a great resource for Mumpreneurs with ideas and help for those trying to start their own business. Also, for busy Mums the site is also a fantastic shopping experience with a huge range of quirky, innovative products inspired by real parents, as well as tips, recipes and fun stories about our children.

MOIXX sells products which have been devised to answer thorny parenting issues. For example, with five young boys how do you juggle them, your handbag and keep the baby’s socks on? How can you carry a baby AND all your belongings on the school run? How do you keep 4 to 8 year olds happy on a rainy afternoon?

Sock Ons are the ingenious little things that keep those socks on; the Baby and All Bag carries all your essentials and baby too! and the incredible Spark Box was designed by a Mum of two to be multi-sensory, educational, interactive and ethical: and at just £15 is a great credit crunch alternative to an expensive day out!

There are many other different products with prices from £5: from cute clothing to stylish things for the home and educational toys. The site allows you to search according to a range of criteria such as fairly trade,d British made, organic and goodies made form recycled materials.

Socially responsible and built for recycling; Greengrocer bags present a hip, bright and positive alternative to the ubiquitous plastic bag. Huge discounts are available on our annual sale stock. Minimum order quantity is 500. Choose from:

Greengrocer (All-purpose Grocery Bag)
50p each
Quantity available: 2500
In cartons of 100, 13kg each

6-Bottle Bag 40p each
45p each
Quantity available: 2000
In cartons of 100, 7kg each

Lunch Mini Bag (Café Lunch Bag)
45p each
Quantity available: 1600
In 7 cartons of 228 bags, 12kg each

City Foldable Bag (Pocket-sized folding shopping bag)
35p each
Quantity available: 500
In cartons of 100 bags, 12kg each
Bags only, no display card

All sale bags are coloured and printed as pictured. Prices exclude courier delivery costs. Full product details plus additional photographs are available at: http://www.greengrocer.uk.com/

To order, email us at email@greengrocer.uk.com or phone 077 255 22317.

Lessons on Health and Longevity from Pre-History to Modern Day

Natural healing methods from around the world promote health and wellbeing.

Are you sneezing from a cold or coughing from the flu? Do you have tummy aches or joint pains? If so, herbalist John E. Smith is coming to your rescue. Join John E. Smith as he shares the vast body of knowledge he has gathered from other cultures about food, herbs, health, and healing. Smith has traveled the world studying how other societies use food and herbs as medicine. In Food, Herbs, Health & Healing, he examines various natural healing systems and then distils his findings into a common sense approach to health and wellbeing. Smith offers a colorful cast of characters in this healthful, wholesome, and sensible book: foods, herbs, herbalists, and alchemists. He discusses the origins and healing properties of plants, and then shows us how to safely use ancient remedies to relieve dozens of common ailments. Food, Herbs, Health & Healing is a practice-proven method to achieve better health . . . naturally.

Publisher’s website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/FoodHerbsHealthandHealing.html

ISBN: 978-1-60860-653-5

Today sees the launch of a new report investigating high net worth (HNW) individuals’ perceptions of responsible investment (RI) and its implementation across the wealth management industry. The report Responsible Investment and Wealth Management: Opportunities for the future is written by RI specialists EIRIS and published in association with wealth management newswire WealthBriefing and the leading private bank Kleinwort Benson.

Based on a survey of the global readership of WealthBriefing and featuring comment and analysis from a panel of prominent RI experts, the report explodes the performance myth that responsible investments under-perform. It identifies a growing awareness of environmental, social and governance issues amongst HNW individuals and finds that the financial crisis has had a positive effect on the view that wealth managers take towards RI. Over half of wealth managers included in the survey reported that the current financial situation has lead to them taking governance issues and a potentially tighter regulatory framework into account within their clients’ portfolios.

Key findings:

• 90% of wealth managers responding to the survey said that their RI portfolios have performed the same or better than their other portfolios.


• HNW individuals are now more aware than ever of social, environmental and governance issues and how they might relate to their investments than ever before.


• The financial crisis has made 30% of respondents more likely and 60% just as likely to offer RI to their clients.


• 55% of wealth managers are more likely this year to look at governance and impending regulatory issues in their clients’ portfolios.


• Wealth managers identified a lack of clarity and information on performance as a key barrier to implementing bespoke RI solutions for their clients.


• Most HNW individual interest in RI is from the entrepreneurial community.


• HNW individuals are increasingly moving between wealth managers, making client retention challenging.


• 70% of wealth managers’ clients see a clear link between their philanthropic activity and investing in line with their philanthropic goals.

This is the third year that EIRIS has mapped out the RI landscape within the wealth management industry.  This year’s report identifies an increased demand for RI, as demonstrated by the 588 signatories who have now signed up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment initiative, representing funds under management in the region of $18 trillion. The report finds that concerns around climate change and child labour have now become an integral part of the social landscape and examines the extent to which these and other issues are being addressed in constructing investment portfolios.

With many HNW individuals looking to mitigate risk and focus on long-term goals rather than short-term gains, the research identifies a growing number of investors seeking to understand responsible sustainable investment and the value of screened portfolios.  The study affirms the extent to which wealth managers should recognise this interest and be putting in place the necessary investment and screening options to cater for any of a client’s ethical or investment needs. The panel of RI experts were united in their agreement that as a result of the credit crisis there would be a greater focus on the importance of board structure, accountability, governance and remuneration.

It is hugely significant that RI has made such headway in recent years to include positive and negative screening elements, risk mitigation and the best of sector approaches.  The research shows that future generations expect to gain a better understanding of what their money is achieving and using RI ensures that clients’ investment activities support rather than undermine their philanthropic aims.  Solid foundations have already been laid for the implementation of RI strategies in the UK and there is firm evidence from this report to support RI as having a central role to play in the risk/return analysis of portfolios for HNW individuals.

‘Our study illustrates how the financial crisis has caused real polarisation among wealth managers. Client retention is increasingly a challenge and wealth managers can improve retention rates and gain a competitive advantage by responding to the increasing numbers of HNW individuals who are expressing an interest in responsible investment’ explained Victoria Woodbridge, Senior Client Relationship Manager at EIRIS. 

Guy McGlashan, Head of Private Wealth Management Services at Kleinwort Benson said ‘It is our job as wealth management professionals to be more proactive in the education of both private clients and charities in terms of RI capabilities.  The financial landscape has changed immensely since the demise of Lehman and we have a responsibility as wealth managers to understand not only a client’s investment outlook but also their philanthropic drivers.  We believe wealth management tools will evolve as RI takes on a significantly greater role in mitigating risk and delivering investment goals.’

A copy of the full report for 2009, entitled ‘Responsible Investing and Wealth Management: Opportunities or the future’ and retailing at £195 is available from WealthBriefing, please contact Philip Harris, on +44 (0) 207 610 8104. 

How to indulge yourself AND feel good about yourself? Ethical Consumer’s new report awards best buys for chocolate brands in time for Chocolate Week 09 (12th-18th October).

Chocolate was one of the first, flagship Fairtrade products. Since 1998 sales of Fairtrade chocolate have grown from £1m to £26.8m in 2008.

But outside of the ethical leaders, who ensure human rights and environmental standards in their supply chains, there’s a dark heart to the chocolate trade. More than a third of cocoa (from which chocolate is made) traded globally comes from the Ivory Coast, West Africa. In August this year INTERPOL rescued 54 children, victims of organised slave labour, from Ivory Coast plantations. A US State Department report found child labour, forced labour and people trafficking in the Ivorian cocoa trade. Ethical Consumer’s new report examines industry responses to the human rights challenge.

Ethical Consumer’s new report rates the companies behind 38 chocolate brands across 17 ethical categories in four main headings – Environment, Human rights, Animal rights, Politics.

Best Buys for boxes of chocolates: Booja Booja, Divine, Traidcraft.

Best Buys for chocolate bars: Divine, Montezuma, Tradicraft, Plamil, Vegan Organica.

Ethical lagards at the bottom of the ranking table were Mars (with an ‘ethiscore’ of 2 out of a possible 20), Nestle, Tesco and Asda (each with zero out of 20).

Ethical Consumer’s report is independent of and not endorsed by Chocolate Week 2009.

Simply Soaps have re-packaged their successful Mood bath tea bags via their sister company, Hedgerow Herbals. The product, a jumbo tea bag filled with wild crafted herbs is now packed in a fun looking pillow pack and with 6 varieties including a new Mood blend-Phew! to help detox, the new designs will help generate sales towards Christmas.

As Laurence Campion Director for Simply Soaps says ‘we are really excited about the prospect of the new bold designs for the bath bags they will surely add a fun twist to an already successful product.’

Our new herbal bath bag…Phew to help detox! with juniper berries, ginger and peppermint to help with your cleanse. All bath bags are packaged in a display box of 6. Trade price £1.99 each unchanged price for over 12 months!

Visit the website for more products http://www.simplysoaps.com/

Do you want to know where your clothes come from and do something positive with every pound you spend ?

If so, have we got an offer for you!!  New pants for you, or the special someone in your life, and we’ll throw in a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, for free.

whomadeyourpants? pants are like no other. They’re gorgeous, they fit well, they feel good, and every pair sold helps the women who make them, women right here in the UK. We’ll tell you exactly who made them, and when, and even show you photos of where. Based in Southampton, we’re owned by our workers (No fat cats. No sirree.) and provide training and jobs to women who want to work but have struggled to find jobs. Every penny profit we make will go back into providing them and more women like them with more training, more support and more advice. We’re aiming to show that ethical can be beautiful (think pink lace rather than beige hemp and you’re getting the idea), and affordable too. 

We’re launching our first collection, ‘Jasmine’, on the 1st December and are taking orders now for guaranteed December delivery, and for gift vouchers for Christmas presents too. These pants will be hot off the presses, the first ones of our first collection. By buying them you’ll be ensuring that we can keep supporting women, and that we can bring you collection after collection of gorgeous, ethical pants.

To find out more and to order now please check out http://whomadeyourpants.co.uk/preorder.html or calls us on 023 8022 5536 and we’ll answer just about anything about pants!