This years’ hayfever season has been one of the worst on record. Regular high pollen counts and hot dry days have caused misery for the 15 million hayfever sufferers in the UK.

While there are many options available for hayfever including medication – both prescription and over the counter remedies, you might be left wondering what ethical alternatives there are.  

HayMax™manufactures a drug-free pollen barrier balm aimed at hayfever sufferers. Many people have found that it works wonders. Debilitating hayfever symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, itchy face, throat and eyes.

You can find more about HayMax™- how it works, how it was developed and tested and people’s experiences of it at www.haymax.biz.

HayMax™operates as an ethical business. This means that company acts responsibly towards people and the environment.

HayMax™ aims to be as green as possible. The business reduces waste, recycles, has as small a carbon footprint as possible and aims to be carbon neutral. HayMax uses local suppliers and the highest quality of organic ingredients. Where ingredients can’t be sourced locally, we use local suppliers who already import, so we try to keep miles to an absolute minimum.

HayMax™always conducts business in an ethical way. It treats others fairly and resolves any disputes that arise amicably without resorting to legal action if at all possible. So far this has not been necessary.

Its product, the HayMax™ pollen barrier nose balm is ethical – all ingredients are ethically sourced and only the purest essential oils and extracts are used.

So HayMax™is a natural, organic product that people can use for hayfever.  Why not give it a go?

HayMax Limited is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Book of Green promotes green and ethical businesses with a free annual paperback eco directory, free iphone app and online news and offers. This year’s paperback is now on the shelves, and there is still time to get a lifetime listing in the iPhone App for just £45.

The free to download iPhone App is getting great results.  Businesses included are reporting new sales, new clients and more exposure.

”In less than a week of the app being launched we’ve had orders as a result of our iphone app listing- about £100 worth of products- we’re delighted.”
 Howard Carter – incognito

‘Eurydice PR has received new clients as a result of being in the App.’ Lisa Jackson – Eurydice PR

With 100’s new users a day, average session length 15 minutes and high level repeat users this is affordable new media advertising. 

Directory features include; profile listing with logo, geo-location, social media integration, direct emailing, direct dialing.  Other features: Twitter and News feeds. 

The cut-off date for obtaining a lifetime listing, with no annual fees is 27^th July.  Simply fill out our booking form and send us your logo (70×70 pixels .png)

You can download the app free from the App Store.

Book of Green is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

For mass take-up of energy saving measures we need effective financing schemes, so we welcome the glimpses of detail on the Green Deal that Greg Barker gave us at the end of June. However, it’s not enough to get a clear view of how the scheme will work.

How will it be delivered?

Barker said: “Two things are vital. Community involvement is very important, but the other exciting thing about the green deal is that it is not just reliant on the big six energy companies, which have mixed reputations, but brings in some of our most trusted high street retailers and brands, such as Marks and Spencer and Tesco, which have strong degrees of consumer trust.”

Yes, they’ve got consumer trust. But for selling food, or clothes, or DIY products. Not for their expertise on installing domestic energy efficiency. This isn’t a pile it high, sell it cheap product. It’s specific to the needs of each house, and customers need expert advice on the best solution for their circumstances.

Past grants schemes for insulation have tended to be very one dimensional, with little choice of material. It’s mineral wool or nothing under most of the schemes. I hope that this scheme, which has a much more ambitious reach in numbers covered, will also offer householders choice as to products and measures – as long as they meet the goals of reducing carbon emissions and reducing the total energy bill. This will need the involvement of local and specialist companies, as well as the big national ones.

Not only will this offer choice, but it will help boost local businesses to provide the green jobs that are so much mentioned, and give consumers some peace of mind. Smaller, local companies have to deliver a good service, their reputation depends on it, and word soon gets out if they don’t. The nationals are much more likely to sub-contract the work, and put pressure on the margins of the people working for them, losing the level of accountability for customers.

Who would you rather get your insulation and other energy efficiency measures from? The big boys? Smaller, local installers? The council? A N Other? Please let us know by commenting on the YouGen blog, and voting in the poll on the YouGen home page.

The pay-as-you-save pilot schemes set up under the last government won’t report until April 2011, but I hope that the coalition will learn from what has happened so far. The innovative charity Bioregional, which has been running a pilot with Sutton Council and B&Q emphasises the importance of bringing it back to community and partnership levels.

The figure of £6,500 is a disappointment. I know that it’s the one the Conservatives were touting in the run up to the election, but hoped that the LibDems would negotiate it up nearer the £10,000 that they were proposing.

It’s also a serious disappointment that microgeneration will not be covered under this scheme. There are plenty of households that have insulated, and would like to take things further, but need help with the up-front costs. Yes there is a feed-in tariff, but that doesn’t help with the capital cost. It looks as though the government relying on the market to provide – but is that the best way to go, and will it provide in a way that will encourage action on a large scale?

First published on the YouGen blog. For more information on energy efficient or renewable energy visit YouGen.

YouGen is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Butterfly Conservation, whose strapline is ‘Saving butterflies, moths and our environment’, are organising a Big Butterfly Count.  This is going to take place between 24th July and 1st August and they would like as many people as possible to take part.  Here’s some information about it.

The survey is being launched during 2010 to mark the International Year of Biodiversity. Butterflies react very quickly to changes in their environment which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. Butterfly declines are an early warning for other wildlife losses.  That’s why counting butterflies can be described as taking the pulse of nature.

The count will also identify trends in species that will help us plan how to protect butterflies from extinction as well as understand the effect of climate change on wildlife. 

So, please log on to the www.bigbutterflycount.org site and see how to take part.  

Simply count butterflies for 15 minutes during bright (preferably sunny) weather sometime between 24th July to 1st August. They have chosen this time of year because most butterflies are at the adult stage of their lifecycle, so more likely to be seen.  Records are welcome from anywhere: from parks and gardens, to fields and forests. 

There’s a butterfly chart you can download as a pdf and an inter-active chart on their site showing photographs of butterflies for you to record your sightings.  If you have children, this would be a great activity for them during the holidays. 

You might also like to consider adding more plants attractive to butterflies to your garden.  In addition to the well known ones such as Buddleia and Sedum, there are many native wild flowers featured on our website (www.reallywildflowers.co.uk) to choose from – ones such as Garlic Mustard and Birdsfoot Trefoil which are not only nectar plants but also caterpillar food plants.  If you are staying at home this summer, you could buy one of the Butterfly Meadow Collections now and grow them on in 3″ pots to plant out in the autumn.  Do remember to water regularly until they are established.

Really Wild Flowers 

(Thanks to P. Llewellyn of www.ukwildflowers.com for the photo of the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.)

Really Wild Flowers is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The school holidays create  real quality time opportunities with the children. To help deal with the inevitable “Mum I’m bored” and “Are we there yet?” bursts of enthusiasm from the kids, keen2lean has a number of educational travel games ready to hand. Some are ideal for that glass case marked “break glass in an emergency.”

Those wet days or the long journeys we all love as parents can have their moments. You have run out enthusiasm for yet another round of I spy; the clues have become just too ridiculous! Ideally you want  games that are fun easy to play and have  educational content.

“No one really wants to think about school during the holidays so the best the travel games have a hidden content; learning in disguise as we call it” says Alistair Owens MD at keen2learn. The latest range just added to keen2learn are decks of cards called Fun Decks. Packed in flip top tin they can be played for minutes or hours; the rules are simple, based  on the curriculum  and  they are used in schools to great effect. Now parents and grandparents can play these games knowing  they are encouraging learning with the children. A wide range of literacy games are available covering everything from irregular verbs, understanding inferences to  synonyms all as a decks of 56 cards.

For the kids who believe it’s impossible to have fun without ear phones the educational game Bunja is ideal. It uses MP3 technology to incorporate a range of maths games. Bunja has some very clever aspects; it learns how the child is performing and adjust the level of questions  up or down in difficulty. It also lets parents and teachers check on a child’s performance with a summation feature.  The game rewards the child with a chapter of an interactive story set in the jungle. Each time a set of questions is answered  they can  interact with the next chapter of the story.

Children understandably don’t like homework thrown in their face especially during holidays. But the benefits of practising what they are learning through educational games has a huge impact on their ongoing capacity to learn. Making it fun where all the family can join in helps loose the schoolwork stigma. Nothing new,  teachers do this in the class and all the games on the keen2learn site are used extensively by teachers.

Keen 2 Learn is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Bio Hotel Benny is the first BIO-Hotel in Val di Sole. The closeness of nature, the peaceful and sunny place situated in the heart of the Dolomites [between the Stelvio and Adamello-Brenta National Parks] is fascinating during both winter and summer time. The hotel has been planned using the principles of eco-architecture and built using healthy materials and eco-friendly technologies. The result is the best natural lighting ambience, without any electromagnetic field. Activities include skiing, nordic-walking, biking, rafting, and more. You will taste and will be delighted by our bio-cuisine consisting of a rich breakfast buffet for an energetic start in the morning, a buffet of various vegetables with a three course menu every evening, and a special dessert to conclude. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2866.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

BIO-Hotels is an association of independent hotels offering holidays based around natural products. The hotels offer the highest standards for demanding guests. Here, only the best goes into the pot. The hotels aim to offer only organic products, with a large choice and gourmet quality. Every BIO-Hotel offers at least one vegetarian menu and one wholefood menu. All products must come from organic production. If a food or ingredient is not available in organic quality, this must be confirmed by the supplier. In this case, the product must be brought to the attention of guests through the description ‘conventional’. Products from the hotels’ own gardens, self-picked or collected wild herbs, mushrooms and berries will be verified separately. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2864.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Eco Print is proud to be able to offer clients the new biodegradable banner. Made from Bioflex™, a biodegradable PVC material, these banners are printed using eco-solvent inks with no loss of quality nor length of life due to their biodegradable status. Perfect indoors or outdoors! When finished with, these can be put in your normal rubbish and will begin to degrade in landfill within just a few weeks.

During the general election , Eco Print provided banners for the Green party in their local campaign.

‘the banners looked great in town this morning, thanks again for your efforts and support with this…’ (Nick Startin Green Party Candidate for Salisbury)

So, when your company information changes or the logo has been altered you no longer have to worry that those out of date banners will clog up landfill.

Call us for quotes or design requirements and we will be happy to help.

01722 340350        http://www.ecoprintuk.com

Eco Print is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Cost, storage, and disposal of used chemicals  have impacted on science education in schools. But now physics, chemistry and biology in the classroom have have learnt a lesson from the subject itself. The latest science teaching resources have been miniaturised without losing any impact in the effectiveness of the curriculum. Saving storage space, cleaning time and minimising the use and disposal of  chemicals the microscience workstation approach is a truly green approach to educatio

• Students can work individually gaining greater ownership of their learning and allow teacher assessment
• Lower cost using much smaller amounts of chemicals in the experiments
• Environmentally friendly with lower consumption of energy, water and  less waste
• Lower health and safety risks means those impossible experiments becomes possible!
• Experiments are quicker with less clearing up, washing and storage of equipment
• More time is available for lesson introductions and plenary sessions.

The workstation is easy-to-use, adaptable and has well-established laboratory procedures  and supplied with a large number of materials and worksheets. The hand-sized Comboplate allows microscale experiments  at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and  a link between practical work at all three.  Other innovations such as the Combostill (used for organic preparations) and the microburette provides an almost complete coverage of chemical techniques.  The science experiments avoidable on a micro scale include:

• Gas preparation and testing
• Electrolysis
• Distillation and refluxing (including steam distillation)
• Heating of chemicals and testing the gases evolved
• Rates of reaction including reactions catalysed by enzymes
• Quantitative chemistry including titrations; molar volumes and gravimetric analysis
• Preparation of salts
• ‘Test-tube’ experiments
• Separating the components of mixtures
• Electrical circuits
• Food testing
• Simulation of osmosis and other phenomena

Micoscience  overcomes many  anxieties of practical work  for teachers. Working on a micro scale encourages  innovative and an heuristic approach.  The apparatus can also be taken home. The amounts of chemicals used are so small the kitchen worktop is ideal as a place of work and the waste can disappear safely down the kitchen sink.  The adaptable and easy-to-use apparatus has spearheaded a completely new approach to science in the classroom. Teachers are given confidence by the ease of use and the range of worksheets and support available.

Keen 2 Learn is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Built in the 1700s as a double kiln oast house, Bishopsdale Oast is peacefully situated overlooking a deer park in the Garden of England. Breakfast includes homemade bread and conserves, and produce from a local farmer. Evening meals are catered for by prior arrangement. All the vegetables are organically grown in the garden using natural compost. Guests can enjoy breakfast or dinner in the dining room, or on sunny days al fresco on the terrace. Over the years some of the loveliest and most unusual plants, trees and flowers have been introduced into our four acre garden. The various areas within the grounds, including the wild flower and natural gardens, provide tranquil and beautiful spaces for you to browse and enjoy. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/2791.htm

Organic Holidays is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more