Says ethical online gift store Boutiko

With Fair Trade Fortnight on the horizon, now is the perfect time to start thinking not only about buying ethically produced food, clothing and flowers, but also making a commitment to choosing products made in fair trade conditions as gifts.  

Online ethical gift store Boutiko sources beautiful, original gifts which are handmade in the UK or where sourced abroad, always in fair trade conditions, and often by small family run businesses, in order to help sustain local communities.

Their gifts are perfect for all occasions and the whole family, as well
as friends and colleagues, and for special occasions such as weddings
and christenings, as well as birthdays, Christmas and just plain old
heartfelt present-giving.

Tara Leaver of Boutiko says, “We choose fair trade products for our
customers because they are a double gift in a way. We think it’s
important to offer as much fair trade choice as possible, so that
customers know that buying a present for their friend is also helping
perhaps a group of disadvantaged women in Africa. It’s a win win
situation and it really does all help.”

Boutiko’s pick of the best fair trade gifts on offer for this special fortnight includes:

Ari Suede/Misali Metal & Sheesham Wooden Photograph frames

Handmade in luxurious soft brown suede coloured with natural vegetable
dyes and decorated with a stitched border, recycled aluminium and
sustainable Indian sheesham wood, the frames are made by a small UK
based company using traditional artisans from around the world and only
natural materials.  Their focus is on encouraging local community
initiatives and supporting fair trade.

Silk Taffeta Daisy Bags & matching Coin Purses & Jewellery Rolls
Available in brown, black and a striking blue, these matching items are
hand embroidered by a company in the UK who use a small family run
business in Vietnam to handmake them in fair trade conditions.
Bags  £29.99
Coin Purses  £6.99
Jewellery Rolls  £11.99

Silver silk sequin/vintage cotton photograph albums
Handmade by the same UK company as the photograph frames, these
stunning and unusual photograph albums are made from cotton and
recycled silk and sequins.  The inside paper is handmade from cotton,
and separation sheets from pulped banana skins to make a soft, gentle
paper.
Silver silk sequin £29.95
Vintage cotton £28.95

Black sequin heart with bow
This pretty handsewn padded heart with ribbon is handmade in India on a fair trade basis.  
£6.50

Boutiko was recently shortlisted for the Best Fair Trade Company in the
Green England Awards, and has been nominated for a Rising Star Award,
to be announced on 21st February 2009.

Fairtrade fortnight runs between 23rd February and 8th March.

Boutiko gifts are packaged in recycled/recyclable materials wherever
possible, and offer free giftwrapping and next day delivery as standard.

For these, and other unusual ethical gifts, please look at www.boutiko.co.uk

21 February from 11 am – 5pm
Birmingham’s Custard Factory Gallery

Featuring more than a dozen of Britain’s best Remade Fashion brands, shoppers will be able to mingle with the producer-makers who specialise in making clothing and accessories from waste materials.

On show will be jewellery, underwear, tops, children’s clothing and more. The event is sure to be an eyeopener for anyone who wants to buy the ultimate in sustainable clothing – remade in the UK from waste materials.

More information is at www.remadefashionfair.info

The Remade Fashion Fair Birmingham is organised by Freedom Clothing Project

Sustainability fayre
Cardiff University in the Great Hall
12 March 11.00 – 15.00 

Open to all sectors of society

The aim of the event is to show visitors how they can make small changes in their business or home life to achieve a more sustainable future. Visitors to the event will be have the opportunity to interact with local suppliers, councils, businesses and research organisations in order to change the way they approach issues of sustainability in their everyday lives.

The organisers hope that the public will be inspired to apply some of the knowledge they gain at this event and realise how even the smallest changes can make a big difference to our environment. 

For more information please see www.brass.cf.ac.uk or email thomasc5@cf.ac.uk

Show you love your Valentine – and the planet – with ethical gifts from Boutiko!

Though Christmas is barely over, the tree packed away and the cards (hopefully!) recycled, buying gifts and presents is back on the agenda!! With Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and even Easter fast approaching, not to mention birthdays and weddings galore – it’s now time to look for special gifts which are not only beautiful and express your emotions, but also come lovingly hand-made, ethically and environmentally produced and packaged, and even gift-wrapped for free!

Specialist on-line ethical gift store Boutiko – www.boutiko.co.uk – has a range of stunning gifts perfect for up-coming special days for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day – all made to the highest possible environmental standards. Boutiko offers free giftwrapping and next day delivery.

Great for new mothers on Mother’s Day – as well as loved ones for Valentine’ Day:
Chiming Heart Earrings (£20 – £18 till end January) – ideal for a First Mother’s Day – as these enchanting balls create a particularly soothing sound for babies. These handmade silver-plated earrings on sterling silver hooks resemble Mayan music balls following a tradition of several centuries. They are used for relaxation and in meditation or simply carried for their enchanting sounds! Each music ball is made by hand and no two will sound the same.

Perfect for lover, mother – or even a wedding gift!
Handmade Wooden Signs (£25) – four designs, saying Dream, Home, Love or Mr & Mrs
New to Boutiko – these gorgeous, unique signs are handmade using reclaimed wood and water-based paints, and distressed for an age-old vintage look.

Women of any age will love these:
Daisy / Dragonfly Jewellery Roll (£11.99)
Gorgeous hand-embroidered silk and satin jewellery rolls made in Vietnam under fair trade conditions, small enough to squeeze into a corner of a suitcase or overnight bag, they contain three internal zipped compartments and a ring holder. Boutiko also stocks matching Coin Purses (£6.99) and Bags (£29.99).

The perfect gift for weddings or Valentines:
“Love” Porcelain Tealight Holders (£25)
Handmade by a British artist using offcuts of porcelain from other projects, these exquisite tealight holders spelling out the word L O V E in tiny holes to give a magical flickering glow, are a beautiful present for the one you love.

A practical, ethical gift for EVERYONE….
You’ll never want to use hemp or jute bags again – Boutiko’s ingenious One Less Plastic Bags are handmade from Indian saris with every single bag unique in its design! These bags fold away to a tiny pocket size but can carry up to 2kg – plus are machine washable, £10 – £8.99 until end January.

For these, and other unusual ethical gifts, please look at www.boutiko.co.uk

This year’s list of award winners from the Vegan Society included three Ethical Junction Members.  At the awards ceremony in Wolverhampton on 1 November presentations were made to:

The Barn Vegan Guest House - Best vegan accommodation

Beanie’s Health Foods – Best food product (Fry’s Traditional Burger)

Yaoh -  Best cruelty free non-food product (YAOH Lipbalm)

On behalf of Ethical Junction many congratulations to all three winners!

Nanny K’s brand new designs exclusive to Enamore

The new range includes the Cherry Gingham Hair Pins [as pictured], the Hawaiian Christmas Cocktail Hat, Purple Cocktail Parade and loads of cute Gingham Charm Hair Clips and gorgeous Hawaiian Dream Hair Clips. The new collection will make fabulous Christmas gifts for your friends, daughters and mothers!

Nanny K creates hand crafted vintage fascinators and accessories from a vast collection of vintage flowers in a wide spectrum of colours of delicate antique laces, ribbons, vintage feathers and silks to vibrant retro fabrics and buttons.

Each design is carefully crafted by the designer Natasha Yearley at her studio in Somerset. Natasha and her lovely business partner Emma Cook also opened Fifi De Villes ethical fashion boutique in Frome earlier this year.

Retail prices range from £4 [small flower] to £28 [Alice bands and hair pins] and £34 – £90 [Large Combs and Cocktail hats].

Free shipping for all UK orders!

To view the full range please visit the following link: Nanny K at Enamore

This briefing paper provides general information only and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Unless you are an experienced investor it is important to take advice from a suitably qualified professional.

The price of cleaning up
It seems that environmental issues are everywhere today. Whereas a short time ago subjects such as carbon emissions, clean energy, recycling and access to water were peripheral to the business and Government policy agendas; they have in recent years risen significantly in importance.

According to research from Ernst and Young $100 billion of investors capital flowed into the environmental technology sector as a whole during 2006, they expect this to increase to $750 billion by 2016, an increase of 650%

So what are the main economic drivers for this surge in investment?
The EU has set the goal of cutting emissions by 20% before 2020. In Britain the UK climate bill announced a target 60% emission reduction by the year 2050. These regulatory steps build on the 19997 Kyoto protocols which have been signed by 169 companies.

The bulk of investment is likely to go into clean or low carbon energy.
The Chinese Government is likely to invest $200 billion in water infrastructure by 2028, and has committed $180 billion to its clean energy targets. China 2007 climate change action plan includes a plan to double to use of renewable energy by 2020.

A case study- Wind Power
In November 2005 in the State of Colorado (US) a remarkable thing happened to the price of energy. For the first time in the US 33,000 retail energy customers, homeowners and businesses began paying less for electricity generated by wind turbines than other customers buying conventional power from the burning of coal and gas.

This was the result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita roaring through the Gulf of Mexico, causing Xcel Energy to raise the surcharge for conventional energy customers. The marketplace response was swift with Windsource energy quickly sold out and with the generation sites unable to meet demand.  

In that instance the tipping point had been reached due to extraordinary weather events but energy security is also a problem here in Europe with UK increasingly dependent upon the Global markets for gas.

Big players, big growth
By almost any measure, wind energy is booming. If we look at the overall market size the global wind industry has gone from $11.8 billion in 2005 to $17.9 billion in 2006. In the US in 2006 wind was the second largest source of new energy generating capacity, trailing only natural gas.

The European experience
Europe accounts for about 75% of the world’s installed wind-energy capacity, with more than 40 GW. As it does in solar power, Germany leads the world in wind production with more than 18 GW- 33% more than the US.

But the hottest current growth market in the European Union is Spain, which has vaulted past Denmark and the US to become the world’s second largest wind energy user.

Although the Danes still lead the world in the percentage of domestic power generated by wind at 20%. Other European growth markets for wind include the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK; although Shell has recently withdrawn from Europe’s largest wind energy project the London array.

What are the opportunities for private investors?
There are a range of ways in which small private investors can access these growth markets; through relatively mainstream collective investment funds run by fund management organisations, such as Jupiter asset management or Henderson Global

Investors
There are also opportunities to achieve more direct exposure to environmental technologies via venture capital firms such as Foresight. The major ethical bank Triodos has also recently launched a “fund” which invests in wind and wave power energy generation in the UK.

Sources
“The Clean Tech Revolution”  Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder
Global Eco-trends Investment brochure Allianz Global Investors
John Ditchfield
Barchester Green Investment

Catarina, a young upcoming designer from Portugal, has produced an exclusive range of fashion accessories for our web boutique. We are delighted to present this beautiful collection made from a fabulous collage of materials including vintage fabric beads crafted from the offcuts taken from Enamore’s own production studio.

Catarina Vassalo’s commitment is to create beautiful jewellery that will make you look and feel gorgeous, source only ethical suppliers, use as much as possible eco-friendly and recycled materials and produce as little waste as possible. All Catarina’s designs are hand made in the United Kingdom.

The outdoor enthusiast and traveler’s best friend!

Voltaic solar bags are stylish mobile solar power generators designed to charge virtually all handheld electronics and are now available in the UK -  courtesy of Ecotopia. Whether you are an adventurer and visiting the Gobi Dessert, just out for the day trekking in Wales or biking through France then these solar bags are for you.

Embedded in the outside of the bags are lightweight, tough, waterproof solar panels. The new Generator produces up to 14.7 watts, powerful enough to fully charge a typical laptop from a day of direct sunlight. No other solar bag can do this! The smaller bags produce 4 watts of power so 1 hour in direct sun will power over 3 hours of iPod play time or 1.5 hours of cell phone talk time.

All Voltaic bags come with a custom battery pack which stores any surplus power generated, so it is available when you need it – not just when the sun is up. The battery packs can also be charged using the included AC travel charger or car charger, making them just as useful on the grid as off.

All bags include standard adaptors for common cell phones and other handheld devices. The Generator also includes common laptop adaptors. Even without an adaptor, you can charge most devices with a standard car charger or USB charger.

Once you’re in receipt of your backpack or bag, you just need to go for a brisk walk in relative sunlight to get power surging through your appliances. Or you can leave it, with the panels facing towards the sun next to your desk, safe in the knowledge that you have one of the world’s first pieces of sunworshipping luggage.

The Voltaic Messenger at £175 is reinforced and padded to carry and protect a laptop. It has large zipped pockets for documents, and multiple small pockets for electronic devices. Ideal for use in town or as a travel bag.

At £155, The Voltaic Converter is our most versatile model. It is a small light weight day bag with a compartment for a water bladder, so it is ideal for biking and hiking.

Multiple attachment mechanisms mean it can work as a pannier on a bicycle, a tank bag on a motorcycle, a saddle pack, or a day bag attached to a lager rucksack.

The Voltaic Backpack at £195 is the granddaddy of all backpacks. It is built tough for use as a weekend hike bag or as a large daypack. There are pockets and wire channels for multiple electronic devices and 1,850 cubic inches of storage space.