So many of our lovely clients are feeling tired & listless at the moment. The nights are drawing in and there’s a nip in the air … you can turn it to your advantage…

OV’s Top Tips for Autumn

• Pick blackberries and eat them on your breakfast cereal – fantastic for antioxidants to keep you healthy and fight off bugs.
• Think of those lovely cosy nights cuddled up in front of the fire…
• The zzz’s you get before midnight are the best. Get to bed early with a good book.
• Start using your Lightbox, if you have one. It will pay dividends as the days get shorter.
• Make an appointment with yourself! Our favourite thing to do is spend time in the bathroom. Warm baths with special oils, aromatherapeutic candles, a magazine, face mask & hair treatment … bliss!

OV naturals is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

What are the main differences between the old and the new label?
The new labelling system allows up to three classes (A+ to A+++) to be added on top of class A so as to provide consumers with more differentiation between products. If the majority of the market reaches the upper two classes (A++, A+++), the classification will be reviewed. However, it is expected that classes A+++ are close to the technological limit of possible efficiency improvements.

Manufacturers of Televisions will have to declare the energy efficiency of their products, using an A to G scale. The label must be clearly shown on the TV set and in advertisements, if the prize of TV is mentioned.

The new labels are language free and will be added in the packaging of each appliance and TVs. This will allow retailers to easily attach the label to the appliances and televisions at the point of sale and avoid today’s situation where appliances are often mislabelled.

When will the Regulations enter into force and when will the label become mandatory?
The entering into force of the Regulations is subject to the right of objection of the European Parliament and Council. If they do not object, the Regulations should enter into force around December 2010 or February 2011. The label will be allowed on a voluntary basis immediately after the entry into force of the Regulation and become mandatory on all appliances placed on the market one year after the entry into force of the Regulations.

Why does the energy label for televisions have seven classes from A to G while the energy label on refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines goes up to class A+++?
The principle is that the energy label starts with the classes A to G when it is introduced for the first time on the market (which is currently the case for televisions). Refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines have already been displaying the energy label with the A to G classes for more than 10 years. As a result of the technological improvement triggered by the label, around 90% of those products currently reach class A. This is why new classes have been introduced on top of class A to allow consumers to differentiate “better than A” products.

How much electricity can a household save with the highest energy class on the label?
The actual amount of energy saved depends of course on a concrete product (its size and features). For example, a refrigerator-freezer in class A+++ will consume on average 60% less than a refrigerator-freezer in class A. A dishwasher or a washing machine in class A+++ will consume on average 30% less than a dishwasher or a washing machine in class A.

Will the TV and other equipment be more expensive for consumers?
The label scheme does not increase the prices. Energy efficient products tend to cost more but they save energy. The label gives the consumer the choice which product they prefer.

Does the introduction of these new labels ban some household equipment from the market?
The label does not ban any product from the market but provides information and market transparency to assist consumers to make an informed purchasing decision. It ensures that all products are comparable using the same test methods and classification. The aim of energy labelling is to provide incentives for industry to develop further improved products and innovations beyond the “minimum” mandatory energy efficiency levels.

How will the new label be introduced at the point of sale? Is an old class A of household refrigerating appliances, dishwashers and washing machines the same as the new one?
The new label will gradually be introduced at the point of sale, meaning that consumers are likely to see the old and the new label close to each other for several months at the point of sale. However, since an old class A or B appliance is equivalent to a new class A or B, consumers will still be able to compare products at the point of sale on the basis of both energy labels.

What is the difference between energy labels, ecolabels and ecodesign?
Energy labels are adopted by the European Commission on a product by product basis (energy labelling Directive 2010/30/EU). They display ranking of products according to their energy efficiency consumption on an A to G scale, the A class (green) being the most energy efficient appliances and the G class (red) the least. Once the majority of products reaches class A, up to three classes (A+/A++/A+++) are added on top of class A.

Energy labels are mandatory for all appliances placed on the EU market and should always be clearly displayed on each appliance at the point of sale.

Ecolabels are voluntary labels adopted by the European Commission on a product by product (Ecolabel Regulation (EC/66/2010). The Ecolabel, i.e. the flower logo, may be displayed on products and promotional material on a voluntary basis if they respond to a list of the criteria pre-defined in implementing measures of the Commission and guaranteeing that the product is among the most environmentally friendly in his sector.

Ecodesign requirements are adopted by the European Commission on a product by product basis (ecodesign Directive EC/2009/125). They set minimum requirements on the performance of the products so as to improve their environmental impact. Ecodesign requirements are mandatory and must be met by all products to be allowed to be placed on the EU market. They are based on an assessment of the impact of the product on the environment throughout its life-cycle, starting from the production stage, through to production, distribution and disposal.

Sust-it is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Lightbeing Creations is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

In todays economic climate many of us are facing tough lifestyle decisions. A lot of us need to reduce our budgets in certain areas of our life. When money is tight it is tempting to purchase the cheap mass produced beauty and lifestyle products – however, you can still live a natural and organic lifestyle on a budget, particularly when it comes to beauty. Here are our top ten tips for keeping and organic beauty regime on a budget.

1. Keep your regime simple, it’s not essential to have 100’s of beauty products.
2. Double up products. Cleansers such as our take off eye-make up, and our moisturiser is gentle enough to use around the eyes.
3. Re-use. A cloth can work like cotton wool and muslin ones also exfoliate.
4. Have a pamper night in. Preening and conditioning will leave you looking great, invite your girlfriends and it’s a fun night of gossip too!
5. Get active for free. Try walking, stretching or even playing ‘catch’ with the children.  Your circulation will improve and your skin will glow.
6. Search your cupboards. Olive Oil moisturises, Salt exfoliates and Lemons clean nails a treat.
7. Learn how to massage. From head to feet it stimulates skin naturally.
8. Laugh. It lowers the stress hormones that reduce skins ability to regenerate.
9. Feed the skin from the inside with a nutrient rich diet, there are lots of healthy foods that grow in the wild like blackberrys. Make sure you identify what you pick as 100% safe first.
10. Use better value products like our Skin Blossom Organic Bloom range which is packed with gorgeous organic ingredients at a super affordable price.

Find out more about our Skin Blossom Organic Bloom range at www.skinblossom.co.uk

Skin Blossom Organic Bloom is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Sunday 10^th October, 10:10:10, is a global day of positive action on climate change. From sumo wrestlers cycling to training in Japan to 10,000 schools planting trees in Croatia and Russia; from a carbon-cutting telethon on national TV in the Netherlands, to hundreds of people in the UK sitting down to low-carbon Sunday lunches, it is going to be a really inspirational day.

Children’s lifestyle brand Tatty Bumpkin has always been at the forefront of ethically sourced clothing and this year saw them become the first children’s brand in the UK to launch an entirely carbon neutral collection. It has complimented their existing range of fairtrade, organic and sustainable clothing and accessories.

Government website Actonco2.direct.gov.uk recommends easy ways to cut your fashion carbon footprint: “Look out for labels such as Organic, Öeko-tex, Fair Trade, all of which show the garment has been made in a way that minimises its impact on the environment”. In addition to being carbon neutral, Tatty Bumpkin uses SKAL certified cotton and Öecotex certified bamboo; dyes are all enzyme free making them perfect for sensitive skin.

Through a company called Piqqo, the carbon footprint for the lifespan of each of the carbon neutral garments in the Tatty Bumpkin range has been calculated and offset through carbon credits. In this case, the offsets are all in support of the Kikonda Reforestation Project in Uganda. The Reserve employs and trains local people to restore and expand forest areas through tree planting initiatives. More than 200 people have found work through the reforestation activities and their families have settled in the surrounding neighbourhood making the Kikonda Forest Reserve one of the most peaceful areas of the district.

When a customer purchases one of Tatty Bumpkin’s carbon neutral garments they will receive a tag with a unique code which, when entered onto Piqqo’s website, details the project and how the carbon credits are being used.  

Another factor in reducing one’s fashion carbon footprint is the longevity of items.  Tatty Bumpkin road-test their clothes on their own children, so you can be guaranteed that they are going to last no matter how active your little one is. “To make a tonne of clothing uses more energy than to make a tonne of steel. Yet in the UK we buy 2 million tonnes of clothes every year, and chuck more than half of that into landfill sites. Buying to last means you can splash out every now and then on well-made designs that will last longer – and you’ll be tackling climate change in the process.”

For more information on Tatty Bumpkin or their ethical credentials please contact Amy. 01732 812212 amy@tattybumpkin.com

To view the full range of Tatty Bumpkin products please visit http://www.tattybumpkinshop.com

For more information on Piqqo and the Kikonda Forestation Project please visit http://www.piqqoprojects.com

For more information on 10:10:10 please visit http://www.1010global.org/uk

Tatty Bumpkin is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The story was a little late surfacing this year, but nether the less the melting Arctic ice caps got 5 minutes of air time on BBC Radio 5 Live recently. As sure as The Pope is a catholic, the story always emerges at some point at the end of the summertime as of course the full effects of the melting ice shelves can be measured and seen properly. The 5 Live presenter quite rightly highlighted that the already endangered Polar Bear was amongst many animals in the region struggling to survive in their rapidly receding habitat. The guest ‘expert’ on a line from some American institution agreed and nodded accordingly. (OK, it was radio, but I bet he was nodding in agreement!). Then to finish the interview as the travel news jingle started, the presenter asked, “Well, just what can we all do about it”?

What can WE all do about it?!!

It’s like going up to the governor of the Bank of England and saying “Can I lend you a tenner to tide you over, as I’ve heard you have a national debt of a few billion pounds”. It was if the answer could be summed up in 10 seconds and then we would all go off, do whatever was required to halt climate change and then sit down with a cup of tea with a feeling of deep contentment that we’ve just saved the world.

Don’t get me wrong. I am an obsessive recycler and eco-warrior. All my light bulbs are low energy, I always turn off my TV rather than leave it on standby and I cycle (bike) everywhere. My carbon foot print is about the size of a field mouse. Am I really going to make a difference by having the walls of my house filled with foam. I suppose my point is that it has to be a collective global effort. If I’m making an effort why can’t the USA and China agree to sustainable carbon emission limits at the next international meeting on climate control? At the last Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen in December 2009, they could only agree to disagree. Now with ‘Climategate’, internal politics have again got in the way of common sense. Is there any hope? Not only can any of the major players not agree at national level, but those who did agree have been rather economical with the truth and now they all disagree. If that makes any sense!!

For very different reasons I don’t see how both the USA and China can agree to limits that they need to aim towards. China is still in the midst of its own industrial revolution. As for the USA they just won’t give up ‘Big Things’. My equivalent footprint in the USA would be that of a Brontosaurus.

How do I know? In the summer of 2009 my family and friends visited and stayed in Florida for two weeks. On arriving at Stanford Airport, our first port of call was for car hire. I had pre-booked an Economy Four Door Saloon. Now where as I may have expected a 1.2 litre diesel – USA don’t do diesel – Ford Fiesta equivalent averaging around 45 miles per gallon, we got a 2.3 litre V6 Ford Fusion where we were lucky to get 24 miles per gallon. Of course it was an automatic as well. And that’s economy!

We had rented a 5 bedroom house near Kissimmee. On arriving every light bulb in the house had been switched on to give us an illuminating welcome. Now this house had every mod con you could possibly think of. There were so many switches and buttons, it took the first week to work out what they all controlled. Every room had air conditioning and a large ceiling fan. All but two rooms had a television. Outside was a swimming pool and spa pool with spotlights that changed colour every 5 minutes. There was even an outside ceiling fan! Incidentally, someone had switched the outside fan on by accident and nobody could work out how to switch it off. After three days, I finally tracked the ‘Off’ button to stray remote control.

I was intrigued to find out what sort of equipment ran the show. On investigation I tracked down some serious hardware that took up the whole length of one side of the house. I found the swimming pool filtration system, the spa pump, the air con condensers and a couple of other large lumps of metal paraphernalia. I’m convinced there was enough hardware to run a town the size of Brighton. On one occasion we broke the sink disposal unit by trying to get it to ‘eat’ some melon skin. Thinking a fuse may have blown I tracked down the fuse board in the house to investigate. It looked like the National Grid control centre, so I thought I best leave it alone.

Now I’m not saying that the Americans have no awareness of saving energy. The local radio stations carried adverts advising their listeners to save power at regular intervals. Advice like, “Turn down your air conditioning and don’t leave a ceiling fan on if you are not in that room”. Useful advice like, “Do you really need your swimming pool filter on all day long?”  I have American friends and the awareness is definitely there.

There is no getting over it. America is big and everything that is part and parcel of American life is big. It would mean a huge life style change for many Americans to change and it would not be a popular vote for the politicians to start taking luxuries away or taxing them.

Climate sceptics in the UK have been asking why Britons should switch off lights, turn down central heating and avoid foreign flights in order to save carbon when the Chinese are increasing emissions at an ever increasing rate and the Americans find it hard downsizing.

Of course with the advance of industry in developing countries, it’s not only the climate that suffers, something else has to give as well. I’m not sure whether anyone has noticed but we seem to be losing quite a few animals around the world. Not only animals, but apparently one third of the entire world’s species of animals and wildlife in general are endangered. We are basically moving into areas where they used to live either through industry or building new towns and cities and they gradually die out because their homes are flattened. In a nutshell, the overall affect of building on green field sites and knocking down forests and putting people and industry in its place increase carbon emissions across the globe.

This brings us nicely back to the Polar Bear. It’s a cycle that re-cycling won’t fix on its own unless all nations and all governments get their act together. They have had so many chances recently, but it’s a political shambles. Until there is a collective effort the only place you are likely to see a Polar Bear in the future is in a zoo that can afford some decent climate control.

Posted by Nature Boy for Animal Days Out Blogspot

http://animaldaysout.blogspot.com/

Animal Days Out is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

NOMINATIONS are invited for the inaugural People and Environment Achievement Awards (PEA awards) which will identify the country’s green heroes.

Launched to celebrate practical, engaging initiatives taking place in response to sustainability challenges, the PEA Awards are open to individuals or groups who have made a difference in the community, or shown inspiration, innovation and perseverance in their various sectors.

Sustainability issues involve each and every one of us. There is no single solution, nor can any one company, government or organisation tackle these challenges on their own. But these awards acknowledge that great things are happening, and in lots of different places.

The PEA Awards are being launched by the publishers of the quarterly publication National Geographic Green, in conjunction with Evergreen Events and are sponsored by World Energy Research, Isklar, Kyocera and Aquados Simply.

National Geographic Green’s Editor and Chair of the judging panel, Tony Juniper urges people to help recognise those working hardest for a greener future by making a nomination. “We probably all know someone who fits into one of these categories, so please nominate them to let them know that we do appreciate everything they do for our society.”

Other PEA Award judges include Josephine Fairley, co-founder of Green and Blacks; Richard Hammond, founder of greentraveller.co.uk; Rebecca Hill, international marketing director of National Geographic; Leo Johnson, co-Founder of Sustainable Finance and organic entrepreneur Jo Wood.

The PEA awards will be hosted by television presenter Liz Bonnin on 2nd March 2011 at the stunning National Geographic store in London’s Regent Street.

The PEA Awards recognise excellence in 10 categories :

Arts & Music
Best Energy Saving Idea
Best Earth Saving Idea
Business Person of the Year
Community Award
Campaigner of the Year
Entrepreneur of the Year
Public Sector Award
Sustainability in Sport
Responsible Travel

Nominations close on Friday, December 31.

Enter online or download a form from www.peaawards.com

Our supporters and partners include: Luscombe, Arjowiggins, Gina Conway, Book of Green, Eco Connect, daisygreenmagazine.co.uk, Ethical Junction and Eurydice PR.

This blog highlights 7 things to check before you install a solar hot water system. For those who prefer, theres a video version of the blog.

1.  The most important thing is to have a suitable roof for the collectors (panels). South-facing is idea, but anywhere between south east and south west is ok. 

2.  Is the roof is strong enough?

3.  How we get the pipe work to where the cylinder is.

4. Is there space for the larger cylinder needed by a solar thermal system (or space for a cylinder, if there’s a combi boiler).

5.  Lots of people ask for the cylinder to be sited in the loft – it’s important to check that the floor is strong enough to hold it, and the roof is high enough for it to fit in.

6.  Is the house suitable – will the occupants use enough solar-heated water to make it viable? If the house has electric showers and a dishwasher, it often has a low hot water consumption and it’s not suitable.

7. Holiday homes, or homes where there are long gaps where residents are absent, are not suitable.  

About the author: First published on the YouGen blog. Gabriel Wondrausch is founder and director of SunGift Solar, which installs solar thermal and other renewable energy systems in the South West of England.

YouGen is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Below we have listed the Eco Pic of The Day September Top 10 Eco Pic’s.

Click the link to see the picture;

1- THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

2 - DUBAI RECYCLING BINS

3 - 21 WASHED UP PLASTIC BOTTLES

4 - NO KINDA SURPRISE – PLASTIC POLLUTION 

5 - BA FAIRTRADE COFFEE

6 - AMTRACK RECYCLE BIN

7 - GLASS RECYCLING BINS IN BRUGES

8 - EUROTUNNEL WIND POWER GENERATION

9 - ADVERTISING & RECYCLING BINS

10 - HEATHROW TERMINAL 1 RECYCLING BINS

MoreEco is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

To Celebrate Book Week, from the 4th – 10th October we have reduced all of our wonderful children’s eco books by 15%!

Visit Globalkids now and stock up for Christmas!

Globalkids is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more