This Christmas, anyone worrying about what to buy for a child should consider another option. Charity Bank, the not for profit savings bank, offers an account for those under the age of 16. The Small Steps account provides an ethical alternative to traditional savings accounts, making it a thoughtful gift that helps charities at the same time.

Charity Bank’s Small Steps account can be opened by any adult on behalf of a young saver. Funds will be kept safe until the child reaches the age of 16, with a nominated adult being responsible for operating the account until then.  Money in the account will earn 2% gross interest per annum which is added quarterly, so the saver can watch their gift grow.

Until the saver is ready to claim the money, it will be invested in charitable organisations, so the child knows that their gift has been used for good. The minimum deposit to open an account is just £10, making it available to any budget.

Malcolm Hayday, Chief Executive of Charity Bank, said: “The Small Steps savings account gives people a great alternative to giving cash at Christmas. The money belongs to the child, but supports charities while it earns interest. It helps young people appreciate the amazing work that charities do in so many walks of life and is a fantastic way to support charity this Christmas, without any added cost to the depositor, or the saver.”

Charity Bank also offers a range of savings accounts that allow adults to earn interest on their deposits while providing charitable organisations with much needed financial support at no extra cost. To open an account with Charity Bank visit www.charitybank.org, call 01732 774040 or email enquiries@charitybank.org .

- Ends  -

About Charity Bank

Charity Bank is the only regulated bank in the UK that is also a registered charity. It lends to charities, social enterprises and community organisations, including those that would find it difficult to secure funding from traditional banking sector. It invests its depositors’ money in loans to support charities and enterprises that benefit society and publishes details of every loan it makes.

Charity Bank is committed to transparency and community involvement. It provides hands-on support to the business and charities it lends to, as well as encouraging its own staff to volunteer within the community. Charity Bank’s innovative approach to banking and its mission to benefit society have enabled it to lend over £160m to charities and social enterprises, touching the lives of 3.5 million people in communities across the UK.

For more information on Charity Bank’s work, visit www.charitybank.org

About Charity Bank’s Small Steps Account

The Small Steps Account is open to children and young savers aged under 16 years.  At 16, he or she can then decide to continue to save with us, or to use the money in other ways

Interest Rates (gross)

Interest is calculated daily and added to your account quarterly in March, June, September and December.  Interest rates are fixed for the full term of the deposit.  Early repayments are not permitted.

Do children have to pay tax? Visit the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website for full details.

Charity Bank – Ethical Bank is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Bristol-based wholefood manufacturer and distributor Essential Trading has invested £100,000 in a new solar PV electricity system from Solarsense at its Fishponds warehouse in its latest effort to minimise its impact on the environment.

Essential Trading is an ethical company committed to the welfare of the planet. The installation of solar power panels at its factory HQ in Fishponds is the next logical step for this business that is keen to harness all environmentally friendly advances in technology.

Essential chose Backwell-based Solarsense to supply its 44.64 kWp system that comprises 186 solar photovoltaic panels mounted on the roof of its warehouse.  The solar PV (photovoltaic) technology captures the clean, natural energy of the sun.  When the sun hits the panels, it creates an electrical field within the layers of the panels.  This electrical field is converted to AC (usable) electricity and is taken up by the various demands for electrical power within the factory, warehouse and offices.

Essential is paid 32.9p/kWh for all electricity that is generated and is then free to use this energy. Any surplus electricity is then exported onto the grid and Essential is paid 3.1p/kWh for this.

The solar PV at Essential Trading will generate an estimated 38000 kWh of electricity per year.  This represents a saving of approximately 513 Tonnes of CO2 over the 25 year life of the FIT (Feed in Tariff – the Government scheme where businesses and home owners are rewarded if they invest in renewable electricity).  The cooperative borrowed the money to fund this project from ethical bank Triodos.  With the Government’s Feed in Tariff, the cash generated from the system will mean it pays for itself during the 10-year loan payback period and will thereafter be a source of income.

“We are delighted to have our solar power panels up and running now after all the months of planning,” says Eli Sarre, marketing manager for Essential Trading.  “We strive to produce the most sustainable food and non-food products and check the source of each ingredient rigorously,” she says.  “So it makes perfect sense for us to tap into the world’s source ingredient for life – the sun – to power our business naturally.”

About Essential Trading

Essential Trading is a worker co-operative established in 1971 and based in Bristol.  The company wholesales, manufactures and distributes organic wholefoods across the UK and internationally and has over 6,000 lines of healthy options, quality nutrition and ecological products.  80% of its products are certified organic and all are vegetarian or vegan.  An increasing number are fairtrade and gluten-free, thus able to meet the changing ethical and dietary demands of consumers today. With a turnover of approximately £12 million and employing around 85 people, Essential is one of the largest successful worker co-operatives in the UK.

www.essential-trading.coop

Essential Trading Co-operative Ltd is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

I want to precurse by stating loud and clear that I believe the vast majority of people who choose to volunteer are doing so with the best of intentions – and that there are some great volunteer organisations out there.

Our work  brings us into contact with some pretty  marvellous people ( I’d use the word “Awesome” if it wasn’t so abused!) – some of whom may have made one or two of the following mistakes –

BEFORE

1. Most important of all – Not asking questions – just about every organisation that recruits volunteers now lists questions volunteers should ask…..

2. Believing… – just because an organisation tells you the questions you should ask that they are going to answer them fully or honestly. Beware smoke and mirrors!

The answer to “where does the money?” go is easily whitewashed by allocating a whole load of costs to “project development” – yeh but what does that mean and where does it happen…in the host country or in a cosy office in the UK or USA? Is the well paid chief exec’s whole salary allocated to project development? Are the orphans in the orphanage really orphans? ( if you need a reminder about the questions you should ask here they are)

3. Taking “stuff” – let’s face it luggage allowances are low and if you are going for a month or so ( or making it part of a longer trip) you will need the whole of the allowance for yourself . Please do not be tempted to take things with you for your project unless you have been advised to do so by the project or placement organisation.

In many instances the “stuff” can be purchased locally for at least the same price if not lower – and you are adding to local wealth –  BUT most important of all  is it sustainable? – will the project be able to repair it or replace it when you are gone (so often we hear that perhaps a battery driven appliance would be a good idea if the project has no electricity – mmmmm but who’s paying for the batteries?) and indeed do they have the skills to use it? Is it culturally appropriate? You see it’s a minefield!

4.Making unrealistic plans  – our advice to our volunteers  is to ” take what you think you may achieve and halve it – then halve it again – and then reduce it by 50%”….and remember, your reality is not necessarily the reality of the project you will be working with.

You have skills but just about without exception you do not have MORE skills than local people just DIFFERENT skills from local people – and many of your skills just ain’t relevant skills in that environment.

DURING

1. Trying to do too much too soon – watch and listen first….be gentle with yourself and with local people .

2. Taking on too much – try to remember the goals that were set for you ( if you travelled with a responsible organisation – then you should have been given some goals!!!)

3. Making promises that cannot be kept – it’s so easy for misunderstandings to arise – when you think you have said “I will try to do that” local people may well have heard “I promise I will do that” – you can imagine the distress this can cause.

4. Not complaining as soon as a problem arises. It will be a very unusual volunteer placement that does not result in at least one problem – all too often volunteers do not draw this to anyone’s attention at the time – probably because they are uncomfortable and don’t wish to ”create a fuss” .

If you have travelled with a responsible organisation there will be someone you can discuss your concerns with, who you are not working with each day. Don’t let an issue that could be resolved spoil the experience for you and the people you seek to serve.

AFTER

1. Not allowing for the emotion of leaving your project – that cliche “it was life changing” is always true to varying degrees –  again, a responsible organisation will have some feedback and support systems in place for you.

2. Inappropriate giving  – WARNING – nearly all the countries you are likely to volunteer in do not have good postal services – if you post something you will lose it…and at best it will get stuck in customs and the project will not be able to afford to get it released! Again, responsible organisations will be able to advise you on the best way to continue to support your project, if that’s what you wish to do.

3. Not reporting bad experiences – we hear repeatedly from people who volunteered (not with us I hasten to add!) who were poorly served by the organisation to whom they paid their hard earned money. When we ask them to post their experience on the web or write a piece that we can publish, they “don’t like to cause a stir” – well if we don’t draw attention to BAD practise it’s going to make it pretty difficult to replace it by GOOD practise.

Here are a couple of sites to post on irresponsibletourism abroadreviews and dont forget facebook.

So that’s my take – now it would be good to hear from volunteers – what do you think were the mistakes you made?

This article was first posted on www.traveldudes.com

people and places is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

To celebrate the launch of our natural charcoal soap on the Charcoal People website, and the approach of Christmas, we are offering free shipment on orders of £30 or more until December 15th.

As well as our natural bamboo charcoal water filters, we offer the natural charcoal soap and our range of hard-carved charcoal pendants, all wonderful gifts for your eco-conscious loved ones this Christmas.

Festive greetings from all at the Charcoal People!

The Charcoal People is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

A new environmental blogger has hit the web and his name is Steve Waller. Bringing a new twist on traditional eco blogs, GreenSteve positions himself somewhere between consumer advisor and newspaper as he brings a vast array of topics to your attention.

He’ll advise you on ways to use less energy, create less waste and contribute to an ever growing movement of like-minded people determined to bring about real change through coordinated action.

GreenSteve also doles out the advice to business and gives his own opinions on the role of governments both here in the UK and around the world in tackling climate change. He believes in a holistic approach to bringing about action and knows that it will take consumers, industry and politicians working together to acheive the right end goal.

Some of his best posts so far in his brief blogging career include advice on how to stay warm this winter without burning the cash, ways to become a waste conscious shopper and an investigative approach to supermarket sustainability.

To get the latest updates from his blog sent directly to your inbox, you can sign up to his newsletter or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

There is plenty more to come from this ambitious young guy and he hopes that his blog can convince people to change their habits for the good of the environment.

GreenSteve is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Great Christmas Gifts for Her and for Him at ….. www.marketroyale.co.uk

Insist on the best…. make sure you buy 100% Bamboo Pile. All our Bamboo Bathrobes are 100% Super Soft Bamboo Pile.

Small/Medium (Size 10 to 14) – Bust size up to 124cm (49″) / Length 120cm (48″) / Sleeve Up 50cm (20″) / Sleeve Down 57cm (22.5″)

Large/X-Large (Size 16 to 20) – Bust size up to 134cm (53″) / Length 120cm (48″) / Sleeve Up 52cm (21″) / Sleeve Down 59cm (23.5″)

You will find many Bathrobes for sale, however none will give you the feel of Luxury like our Super Soft 100% Bamboo Pile Bathrobes.

All our Super Soft Bamboo Bathrobes are 420gsm offering the softest, silkiest, warmest and most absorbent Bathrobes available and all carry the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification.

Bamboo is the New Softer, Natural, Greener, Renewable and Eco Friendly material of the 21st century. It is 100% Biodegradable, Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Fungal, Anti-Static, Odour Resistant, Hypoallergenic, Thermo-Regulating and 3x More Absorbent than cotton, making it kinder for your skin.

At Market Royale we believe in supporting others who want to deliver a healthier planet and better working conditions, from the bank we use, to the people who make our products.

Bamboo is Better for YOU and Better for our ENVIRONMENT.

Market Royale is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

At Market Royale ‘www.marketroyale.co.uk’ we sell Environmentally Friendly Super-Soft Bamboo Towels, Bathrobes and Bathmats. We believe in making it easier for people to become more environmentally friendly, not by telling them, but by offering a competitive and better alternative where no compromise is required. We believe in sharing our learnings so everyone can benefit. Making people aware is the first step to making a change. We believe in supporting others who want to deliver a healthier planet and better working conditions, from the bank we use, to the people who make our products. Help Us Help You.

Market Royale is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Mr Rob Penn, a renowned journalist and author who has cycled around the world traveling through over forty countries on five continents, we couldn’t have been more excited when we found out he wanted to test ride our Spencer Ivy electric bike.

As well as writing several tomes, Rob also produced his own BBC documentary that followed his world-famous book “It’s All About the Bike: the Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels”.  The book entertainingly tells the history of the bicycle, its evolution, and leads to Rob’s journey around the greatest bike parts manufacturers in the world to build his perfect bike- two of which, we are proud to use ourselves -the UK’s very own saddle makers, Brooks, and tyres from Germany’s Continental.

Having left the bike with Rob to use in between his busy filming schedule, we asked him what he thought about our Spencer electric bike-

‘Sharp looking and lovely to ride’,  Rob Penn.

Spencer Ivy Electric Bicycles is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

A family run boutique hotel with nine rooms in the historical centre of Luz St Sauveur. Our buffet breakfast is essentially organic [bread, cereal, jams, butter, hot drinks, milk, juice, yoghurt, fruit] or locally sourced [honey, cheese]. There is a restaurant on site – the managers use organic flour for crepes and galettes and offer organic tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Meat is from the local butcher, meaning the lamb and beef is entirely raised within the valley. All renovations have been undertaken with environmental considerations in mind, and all cleaning products are ecological. We encourage our clients to come by public transport and are happy to help facilitate this if needed – the buses are regular and reliable. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/at/3062.htm

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