Although women-owned businesses are on the increase there still aren’t enough female role models, is the claim of the leading women’s organisation, Women on Their Way.

Most people still think that the majority of businesses are run by men due to the stereotypical images that we see all around us. That’s why Tabitha Potts is delighted to be short-listed for the prestigious National Women on Their Way Awards 2010 in the Online Business Award category.

Women are equally qualified to run businesses as men but also need more opportunities to connect and do business together.

The competition this year has been particularly tough so it’s a huge honour for Tabitha Potts to be short-listed. Tabitha is a mother of two very interested in the environment and good design. When she started looking online for products for her children and realised that there were not many websites aimed at families which combined a strong design ethos and environmental awareness, she came up with the idea of creating an online shop to do just that. She started her company Mimimyne, showcasing the best in UK and European eco design for kids, in September 2008, and it has been expanding its range and developing a loyal customer base ever since. Tabitha has run the business single-handed while caring full-time for her two sons (aged 7 and 5) and doing a part time job alongside it.

Since her company started trading, Tabitha has been a Runner-up for the Mum-Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 and a Finalist in the Archant Environmental Awards and the Thames Business Gateway Awards. She has been featured in the Daily Express and the Sunday Times Business section as well as in various well-regarded design blogs. She has presented a session on selling online at the Everywoman conference (www.everywoman.com) and also runs a regular ‘Mumpreneurs Meetup’ for fellow entrepreneurs in East London which is sponsored by BT Tradespace. One of the products she helps to promote, the Splat Chair by Spinifex, has been exhibited in the V&A Museum of Childhood!

There are four short-listed candidates for each award and the winner will be announced on Friday 19th March at the Women on Their Way Annual Awards Lunch taking place at Aston Villa Football Club, Birmingham from 11.00 to 15.00.

The awards event is in its second year and aims to connect women through the UK, to inspire and to increase their self belief.

The Women on Their Way Awards is the brainchild of former Apprentice Candidate Jo Cameron and her Co-Director Lisa Ibbotson.

Jo Cameron added “we are delighted that Tabitha Potts has been shortlisted. There are so many amazing women in the UK who don’t always recognise the impact they have made and it is my absolute privilege to be inspired by so many incredible women. We are very much looking forward to announcing the winners in a few weeks time”

This year the judges include Gill Fielding and Caroline Marsh of TV’s Secret Millionaire and other esteemed women from both the public and private sectors. They will be judging the shortlisted candidates over the coming weeks.

There are twelve awards this year including Start Up and High Growth Businesses, Online Business, Woman in Finance, Law, Transportation, Construction/Engineering, Woman in The Community, Public office, The outstanding contribution to Women’s Learning and Development, Young Woman in Business, Outstanding New Product and Woman’s Advocate. This year the coveted prize for the overall Woman on her Way is a weekend away for two included flights and accommodation to Milan.

Tickets are priced £65+VAT each or £600 +VAT for a table of ten places. With up to 500 guests it provides opportunities for networking and to meet other leading and aspiring women.

Last year’s winner of the Legal Award, Laura Kearesley added ““I was thrilled to win the Women in Law award last year; it was a real honour. It was a fabulous day, where I made some really good contacts. Since winning the award and the subsequent publicity I have also been approached by other potential business partners, so it has been really positive for me personally and for business!”

Tabitha Potts, Director (Me Me Mine Ltd trading as Mimimyne)
Phone 0208 133 0962
Mobile 07984 291 409
Twitter @mimimyne
Skype tabithapotts
Email tabitha@mimimyne.com
Web www.mimimyne.com

For more information on the Women on Their Way Awards please contact Women on Their Way press office + 44 (0) 870 2626 555 or email talkto@womenontheirway.co.uk or call Lisa Ibbotson on Tel: 07968 368630 email lisa@womenontheirway.co.uk

Photo of Tabitha Potts courtesy of Ian Billinghurst

Mimimyne (Me Me Mine Ltd) is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The CEW beauty awards sponsored by Boots on the 22^nd February will be judged by the members of the association following a showcase at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Victoria London.

Natural Empathy will be represented in 4 categories with 3 key products, namely ‘Everybody’ luxury hand and body lotion, Shea Luxury body butter, Care and Repair signature moisturiser for men and will also compete in the ‘best new brand’ section.

The Directors of this family owned natural skincare brand, Beverley Stuckey, Madelaine Stuckey and Philip Stuckey will represent the business personally along with experienced beauty therapist Valerie Baldwin.

We hope to see some of our fellow Ethical Junction members there but it is worth remembering that it is a ticket do!

Info from alice@cewuk.co.uk

Natural Empathy is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

We are very pleased that Tropical Wholefoods Fairtrade Apricot Kernels were the winner of the Green Familia Gold Leaf TGF Rated Awards for Food and Drink for 2009. This is a reader voted award. Results were announced on December 31st so a great end to 2009 for the kernels. Says Kate Sebag, director of Tropical Wholefoods: the tamari and chilli kernels are proving extremely popular – and now are available in sharing/catering tubs 500g from our website shop.

Tropical Wholefoods (Fullwell Mill Ltd) is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Apart from running The Barn Vegan Guest I am also co-chair of the New Forest Transition group.  Currently I am managing a year long project promoting local food – The New Forest Food Challenge. 

We have a ning social network site for the project and it’s been selected as a Finalist for the Hantsweb Awards locally.  There’s an award for the site best liked by the public and it would be wonderful if we could win – it would help to get both local food and Transition on the agenda.  It only takes a second to vote and if the EJ network could get behind us I am sure we’ll be in with a shot.

You can also join the Food Challenge – you don’t have to live in the New Forest!  Visit the site

To vote just click here or follow the link on the home page of the site.

Many thanks – Richard Barnett

The Barn Vegan Guest House is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Warren Evans has triumphed at The Growing Business Awards 2009. The award winning bed retailer was named Green Business of the Year 2009.

The London-based bespoke bed maker business beat stiff competition from E-Stack, Good Energy, pall-Ex and Wiles Greenworld to win the Green Business of the Year category.

The Growing Business Awards, organised by Caspian Publishing, celebrates the best entrepreneurial and business talent in the UK. The awards are judged by leading business figures including Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis, John Caudwell, founder of Phones4U and Sir Andrew Cahn, chief executive of UKTI.

Warren Evans, founder and designer, is delighted at the win. He says: “It’s an honour to be named the greenest business in the UK. We are constantly looking at new and innovative ways to make the business as sustainable as possible. Over the past three years, we have invested in innovative low energy appliances for our workshop and our stores, working in conjunction with Envirowise, The Carbon Trust and Business Link. We’re thrilled to win this award.”

This is the third award this year for Warren Evans – earlier this year, they also picked up a Sunday Times Best Green Companies Award and an Observer Ethical Award.

Sustainability has been at the heart of Warren’s philosophy since he established the company over 30 years ago. And over the past three years, Warren has worked hard to ensure that measurable changes are made in store and to his team’s day-to-day working practices to minimise the impact that his business has on the environment. These include:

• Moving to a new and unique sustainable workshop, With help from an interest-free loan by the Carbon Trust, Warren was able to make this super green by purchasing environmentally friendly equipment including a bio-mass boiler and intelligent wood cutting machinery to minimise waste
• Consulting Government green body ‘Envirowise’ and government funded service Business Link for practical advice on efficiencies such as workflow, machinery and gaining staff support
• Avoiding packaging; Warren only wraps his beds and furniture in reusable blankets rather than cardboards or plastics, minimising unnecessary waste
• Signing up to pioneering carbon management schemes, including London Green500 and the 10:10 Initiative
• He is still the only bed maker in the UK to be officially certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which means that all beds and furniture are made using wood from renewable sources 
• All staff uniforms are also fair-trade; Warren ensures that all t-shirts are made from organic cotton, while the fleeces are made from recycled material
• Only using recycled stationery, including envelopes made from elephant poo!

 This has resulted in:

• Office recycling increasing by 50%
• Water usage reduced by 38%
• Disposals reduced by 5%

 The awards ceremony was held on Thursday evening at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, with Warren Evans receiving the prize from award sponsors Stephen Pegge of high street bank Lloyds TSB and Julie Meyer of Ariadne Capital.

For interviews with Warren Evans or images please contact Sophia at PR4 on 020 7637 1237 or Sophia@pr4.com.

Warren Evans is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Natalie Barnwell of Eco Ezee Ltd named one of the Future 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs for 2009 

Natalie Barnwell founder and Managing Director of Eco Ezee Limited is announced as one of the Future 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs of the Year during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is looking to unleash people’s enterprising ideas to tackle some of society’s biggest issues such as climate change, poverty, gender equality and health.

The Future 100 Awards puts the spotlight on young people aged 18-35 who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in running a responsible business venture; one which demonstrates a balance between economic, environmental and social goals to achieve ultimate business success. 

Founder of Striding Out and organiser of the Future100 awards, Heather Wilkinson said: “The future of our world is in the hands of individuals who are committed to generating commercial and ethical returns. 

Challenging economic times can offer opportunities to question the way we operate as both a business community and a society. We are profiling the ‘Future 100′ young entrepreneurs who are changing the face of everyday business and improve commerce’s impact on the wider world.”

The Future 100 awards encourages and rewards extraordinary vision, ethical business practice and social responsibility. They aim to showcase businesses that offer innovative and sustainable solutions to social problems. The Future 100 Awards is organized by Striding Out www.stridingout.co.uk, a social enterprise which is committed to supporting the development and growth of young and ethical entrepreneurs.

Eco Ezee Limited is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

We are pleased to announce that we have been nominated for the Environment Award with the Digital Printer Awards 2009. It would be a great accolade to be awarded this by our very own industry body, so fingers crossed as we are a fairly new start-up, up against some established players in the market place.

Will let you know, how we get on, awards lunch 18th November!

Seriously Responsible Print Ltd is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

The final list of Greener Festival Award winners has been announced for 2009 with another twenty festivals picking up the prestigious gong, adding to the seventeen which were announced in July, midway through the Festival season in the UK.

The new awards go to festivals including Bestival, The City of London Festival, the Cambridge Folk Festival and The Croissant Neuf Summer Party. These Festivals join festivals such as Glastonbury, T-in-the-Park and The Isle of Wight festival who had already picked up the coveted award. The organisers of the Award, campaign and advice group AGreenerFestival.com said that they were particularly pleased with the number of outstanding festivals in 2009 with twelve festivals being awarded very high marks. The Award is based on a 56 part questionnaire which covers office management, greenhouse gas emissions, supporting green initiatives, travel and transport, waste and recycling, water management, environmental protection and noise reduction and almost all the festivals will receive a visit from an independent auditor to assess their green efforts.

All winning Festivals will receive a special trophy designed by competition winner Sade Goddard from Keswick School in Cumbria whose winning design features a Red Kite motif and is made from recycled plastic bottles, crushed CDs and remoulded Wellington boots.

The winner of the overall Greener Festival Award 2009 will be announced at the UK Festival Awards which will be held at the O2 Arena in London on November 19^th 2009.

AGreenerFestival co-founder Ben Challis said “We were worried that in a year when the recession bit hard we might see Festivals shying away from their ongoing commitment to green issues, but we have been generally pleased with the efforts of festivals around the world to keep sustainability high on their own agenda and to promote environmental awareness to fans. We had more ‘outstanding’ winners in 2009 and a 20% rise in applications from 2008, with more international applications than ever with fine winners from Australia, four from the USA and four from mainland Europe. But much remains to be done and in the UK, and a car centric society means that audience travel, and indeed leisure travel in general is a massive problem, clearly not helped by an obvious lack of coherent public transport policies.

The Greener Festival Awards are supported by Robertson Taylor, insurance brokers.

The Future 100 awards recognise the achievements of entrepreneurs aged 18-35, who are running a business with a social and environmental impact.

The competition aims to raise the profile and support this new generation of leaders who are paving the way in sustainable business.

To find out more and apply visit http://www.future100.co.uk/

Deadline for entries is November 5th 2009.

15^th October 2009 London – Following three days of intense deliberation by the judging panel, the Green Awards^TM 2009 is pleased to announce this year’s shortlist across 16 categories. The winners will be announced at the 4^th annual Green Awards^TM ceremony on 18^th November.

The shortlisted work ranged from the informative to the amusing, with entries being selected from a competitive pool for the clarity of their message, creativity of expression and their sustainability rationale.

The hot topic throughout was whether companies could be accused of ‘Greenwash’ or were in fact truly living their values by providing both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the positive sustainable impact of their campaigns.

Dr Peter White, Director of Global Sustainability, P & G and Chair of the UK judging panel, said: “This year’s Green Awards will recognise excellence in sustainability communications from organisations large and small, public and private, and from home and abroad.”

“The entrants demonstrated the innovation and creativity needed to communicate sustainability, even during the current financial downturn. The diversity and creativity of the entrants resulted in much discussion on the judging panel to select the final and worthy winners.”

For details of the shortlists and to see which companies are setting the benchmark in green communications visit http://www.greenawards.co.uk/.