‘Organic Places to Stay, UK and Ireland’ is one of the twelve Non-Fiction books in the final of The People’s Book Prize. It would mean such a lot to me if you could find the time to vote for my book in this last round of voting [you can vote from now until 21 July 2010]. Before you can cast your vote you must ‘register’ your name and email address and follow the instructions on that page. After you have submitted your registration details you will receive an email from The People’s Book Prize with your confirmation along with your unique password. You will then be able to vote by clicking the link to the voting page and after typing in your email and password you can click the box to vote for my book [scroll down the NON FICTION titles to see it]. If ‘Organic Places to Stay, UK and Ireland’ is voted one of the top three in the competition there will be lots of publicity opportunities for both the book and the website, which will help to promote organic food and organic farming. Many thanks to all those who vote. I really do appreciate your support. Linda Moss http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/finalist.php#nonfictionFinalists

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

FREE new guide – ‘How to make the world better’
We all want to live in a fairer, happier and more sustainable world but it can sometimes feel that we can’t make a difference on our own. But there are many important things we can each do, and this new guide gives 10 simple ideas on how you can make the world better – starting now. Check it out here.To download this, or any of our free publications (including ‘The mind diet’, ‘How to find wonder in everyday life’ and ‘How to live ethically’), just visit the Publications section of our website and go through the usual checkout process of purchasing them in our shop – and you will not be billed for them or asked to give any financial details.

Join our mailing list
Join hundreds of other people by signing up to our fortnightly e-newsletter.  It keeps you up to date with all the new FREE goodies we’ve added to the Life² website – and we add lots of new stuff regularly, so don’t miss out!  Sign up now – we won’t share your details with anyone else.

Check out our knowledge base
We’re constantly adding new materials to our free knowledge base, so check out the ‘Good Stuff’ section of our site for a wide range of free ideas, resources, videos and links to help visitors gain perspective on the modern world and live happier, more ethical and more meaningful lives.  The resources include a number of new Life² articles and guides.  Visit them now!  Become a fan of us on Facebook to be notified each time we add a new item to this section of the site.

FREE new MP3 audiobooks
We’ve recently added a couple of new MP3s to our Courses section, which you can download for free and listen to whenever you want.  You can download these by visiting the Courses section of our website.  Our new MP3s include ‘How to appreciate life’, which explores how many of us tend to be so busy and absorbed in the pressure and rush of everyday living that we rarely (if ever) take time to step back from our lives and appreciate the remarkable fact that we are alive and what this really means.  This audiobook shows that learning to appreciate life like this, and reminding yourself about it regularly, can be one of the great pleasures of life, and can bring us a real sense of meaning.

Leeds ‘just think…’ group starting in June
We will be running our fabulous ‘just think…’ course in Leeds (UK) soon, so why not register for it now?  Visit the just think… section of our site for more details of the course or contact the founder of the Leeds group, Antonia Roberts, on antoniaroberts@googlemail.com to find out more.  If you live outside Leeds but are interested in starting a group, you can do so at any time!  See the ‘just think…’ section of our website for details of how to get started or to try out our free taster version of the course.

Volunteers wanted
We have some new opportunities for volunteers at Life² – including a designer and a publicity coordinator.  If you (or anyone you know) would like to get involved in Life² at this exciting time please have a look at our vacancies page.www.lifesquared.org.uk to check out our other publications, ideas, courses and consultancy.
 
All the best,
 
Richard Docwra
Director
Life²
www.lifesquared.org.uk
info@lifesquared.org.uk
Visit my new blog – http://changestar.blogspot.com
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow Life_squared on Twitter

Do keep visiting us at

Life² is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

It’s the final week of free Xmas offers from Life²…

Another FREE booklet – for one week only!
Throughout December we have been posting some offers and goodies on our website, and this is the final week of these offers!  This week we are giving away free downloads of ‘How to live ethically’ (worth £5) – our guide to help you think about your values and how you can live in line with them – including developing your own ‘ethical action plan’ – visit our shop to download it.

Xmas²
Our booklet ‘Xmas² – how to have a better Xmas’ is still available to download for FREE from www.lifesquared.org.uk until Xmas.

The beautifully designed, 44-page Xmas² booklet provides a range of ideas and practical tips on how you can have a truly memorable festive experience – one with less consumerism, pressure and waste, and with more of the things that make festive celebrations great, including people, fun, relaxation, generosity, compassion and the opportunity to reflect.  It also promotes a sustainable approach to Xmas.  Ultimately, it’s about remembering what’s important, in both Xmas and life generally.  Critically, in these financially stretched times, it involves spending less – rather than more – money.

We are giving away free downloads of the booklet from the shop at www.lifesquared.org.uk until Xmas.  These booklets normally cost £5 each, so this is a real bargain!

Xmas gift ideas
Looking to buy something useful and personal for a friend or relative this Xmas?  Why not buy them a place on our just think… course – it could be the best present they’ve ever had!  Also, have a look through our Life² Library for some recommended books or our publications section to buy a selection of some books or booklets!

That’s it for now!  Do keep visiting us at www.lifesquared.org.uk to check out our other publications, courses and consultancy and please do help us to spread the word about Life² to anyone else who you think might be interested in our work!
 
All the best,
 
Richard Docwra
Director
Life²
www.lifesquared.org.uk
info@lifesquared.org.uk
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow Life_squared on Twitter

Life² is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Today we’re launching our major new booklet, entitled ‘Xmas² – how to have a better Xmas’.   We are giving away free downloads of the booklet at www.lifesquared.org.uk from now until Xmas.

Many people think Xmas has become too commercialised and has lost some of its meaning.  Our beautifully designed, 44-page Xmas² booklet provides a range of ideas and practical tips on how you can have a truly memorable festive experience – one with less consumerism, pressure and waste, and with more of the things that make festive celebrations great, including people, fun, relaxation, generosity, compassion and the opportunity to reflect.  It also promotes a sustainable approach to Xmas. 

Ultimately, it’s about remembering what’s important, in both Xmas and life generally.  Critically, in these financially stretched times, it involves spending less – rather than more – money.

We are giving away free downloads of the booklet at www.lifesquared.org.uk until Xmas.  These booklets normally cost £5 each, so this is a real bargain!  To download the guide, just go through the usual checkout process of purchasing it in our shop – and you will not be billed for it or asked to give any financial details.

To support our Xmas theme, throughout December we will be posting a range of interesting Xmas ideas and advice on www.lifesquared.org.uk, as well as some goodies and offers on our booklets and courses, so do keep visiting the site regularly over the next few weeks!

We’d really appreciate any help you could give in spreading the word about the new booklet – and about Life² itself – so it would be great if you could forward this message to friends and colleagues, post it on your mailing lists, twitter about it or do anything else you can to let people know about it.
 
Check out our other publications – including ‘Better than shopping’, ‘The mind diet’ and ‘The problem with consumerism’ – at www.lifesquared.org.uk.
 
Other news
We’re now up and running on both Facebook  and Twitter, so join us there for more updates and content – including a feed of new items we’re adding to the ‘Good Stuff’ section of the website.

That’s it for now!  Do keep visiting us at www.lifesquared.org.uk and please pass this email to anyone else who you think might be interested in what we do!
 
All the best,
 
Richard Docwra
Director
Life²
www.lifesquared.org.uk
info@lifesquared.org.uk
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow Life_squared on Twitter

Life² is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Our mission is to increase your revenue at no cost to you!

We GIVE you an e-commerce bookshop, customised for your audience, filled with literally millions of books;

You GIVE us the opportunity to offer this service to your members;

We GIVE you 50%, yes HALF, of the profits earned on every book sold through your shop (that’s £2 on an average £10 book).

You GIVE your members a truly useful service.

There is no catch and it’s FREE!

What’s more we do most of the work.

How do we do it? 

We break the mould of online bookselling and revenue-generation by bringing them together. 

Our evolution of online fundraising is a revolution in affiliate marketing.

Your supporters, members and/or customers will respond to your expertise as expressed in the wide selection of relevant books in your store.

The power of the web lets us harness a huge catalogue of books to our unique business model thus providing a service your users will love.

The team at Eclector has decades of experience in publishing, bookselling, e-commerce, marketing and charity management, all of which is at your service!.

Your own Bookshop in Three Easy Steps

Our shops come with all the data for every book readily available in the UK.

Step One: Provide images and your logo for your bookshop’s home page.  Then choose its colour scheme.

Step Two: We organise your shop’s menus according to your wishes and fill them with all the books relevant to the Institute’s and its members’ interests.

Step Three: Link to the bookshop from as many relevant places as possible in your website and market the shop to your supporters by email and post.

You are now open for business!

Your shop presents your supporters with the best and most relevant selection of books.

They can also buy any other book readily available in the UK.

Every book purchased through your shop makes a significant contribution to your organisation (this contribution can be shown under each book).

Orders from your shop go straight to our suppliers.

They despatch them to anywhere in the world.

We manage all transactions and customer service.

At any time, you can log in to the admin section of your shop to see how sales are going and add, delete or edit menus, books and discounts.

You can do what you like with your half of the gross profit – keep it all or share it with your members/supporters via the discounts you set.  Every month or quarter we pay you the contribution your sales have generated.

E-marketing can significantly grow the traffic to, and therefore the revenue from your bookshop.

Search Engine Optimisation can get your bookshop’s listing of individual books high up in search results.

Email marketing can include books which when clicked take the reader back to that book’s page in your shop.

For a modest fee – collected from the contribution your sales make – we can help you with this process.

Check out who’s using our stores at http://www.eclector.co.uk

Eclector Ltd is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Here’s yet another free offer from Life² – for the next 10 days* only we are giving away free downloads of our guide ‘The Amazing – how to find wonder in everyday life’ at www.lifesquared.org.uk.  These booklets normally cost £5 each, so this is a real bargain!  To download the guide, just go through the usual checkout process of purchasing it in our shop – and you will not be billed for it or asked to give any financial details.

Here is some background on the booklet – ‘Many of us spend our lives trying to find experiences that take us ‘above’ everyday life and remind us just what a profound experience it is to exist.  This booklet argues that our lives are peppered with such experiences – we just need to know where to find them.  It shows how we can identify them and make sure our lives are as full as possible with The Amazing.’ 

Check out our other publications - including ‘Better than shopping’, ‘The mind diet’ and ‘The problem with consumerism’ - at www.lifesquared.org.uk.

Also, from mid November, we’ll be launching our exciting Xmas initiative, called Xmas².   Many people think Xmas has become too commercialised and has lost some of its meaning – rather like life in the modern world generally.  Our 44-page Xmas² booklet explores some of the things that really add meaning and fun to our experience of Xmas (as well as those that don’t) and gives a range of practical ideas and tips to enable you to have a happy, wise and meaningful festive period.  It will be available from our website for FREE from mid November until Xmas – so, sign up to our mailing list so we can let you know when it becomes available!

*offer expires Monday 16th November

Add your travel tip for the chance to win a signed print from award winning wildlife photographer Andy Rouse

Tourism Western Australia and responsibletravel.com are creating an insider’s guide to Western Australia (WA), including the best sustainable tours and places to stay and travel secrets from locals. As part of this we are searching for the best travel tips and photos from anyone who has travelled in Western Australia to be part of this online guide.

The best tip or photo will win a place in the guide and a signed print of their choice from world renowned wildlife photographer Andy Rouse, who had his first taste of Western Australia earlier this year. His tips on visiting Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef will also be part of the guide. The runner up will win a signed copy of Andy’s Living Landscapes book.

Western Australia might be Australia’s largest state, taking up almost a third of the country, but in many ways it is also the most undiscovered. Geographers are still mapping islands off the northwest coast; scientists are still discovering new species of flora and fauna and traditionally tourists headed east. This means its 12,500km of pearly-white coastline, rugged outback and lush forests teaming with rare wildlife are unspoilt and travellers can often experience the extraordinary scenery all to themselves.

The insider’s guide, which will launch on 9th November, highlights the best natural and cultural experiences in Western Australia, from camping in national parks and swimming with turtles at Ningaloo Reef to learning more about the aboriginal heritage which surrounds the ochre and black stripped domes of the Bungle Bungles. It goes beyond a normal guide with video and podcasts featuring insider tips from locals on where to go and what to do.

All accommodation and tours featured are selected on the basis of a rigourous responsible travel policy and ability to offer a distinctive travel experience that benefits the local community, while sustaining the area’s natural and cultural heritage.

Christie Lord, Tourism Western Australia’s UK Marketing Manager added: “Tourists increasingly want more authentic and locally distinctive holiday experiences. We want to bring together insider knowledge from locals with advice from other travellers to help tourists to discover Western Australia’s best experiences. Whether it’s the best snorkeling spot on Ningaloo Reef or an amazing local restaurant, it’s about having an unforgettable experience which also benefits local communities and supports conservation.”

To enter, got to the competition page on IKnowAGreatPlace.com, add your tips and insider knowledge or upload your favourite snaps. When choosing tags, make sure you include Western Australia competition under ‘Select activities’. If you are not already a member, registering is free and easy. Closing date for competition is midnight on Friday 5th November 2009. Entries will be judged on originality and insight.

http://www.iknowagreatplace.com/ offers:

• Forums – find answers to your questions from travellers and locals


• Tips – swap ideas on great places to visit and great things to see and do


• Photos – upload albums and inspire others with great images of your travels


• Diaries – record your travel tales and stay connected with family and friends whilst on the road


• Travel companions – meet people to travel with on your next adventure

Released November 18th 2009

An indispensable and sure-footed guide to a sweat-free future.  Andrew Ross, author of Low Pay, High Profile and Nice Work If You Can Get It.

A masterful account…There is much insight to be gleaned from this book. Duncan Campbell, Co-Director, ILO.

The Clean Clothes Campaign is a worldwide movement that aims to improve the wages and conditions of sweatshop workers. This is the story of their struggle.

Large retailers such as Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour lure shoppers in with prices that seem too good to be true. This book shows that they’re too good to be fair. All along the industry’s supply chain, workers, often children, are exploited through poverty wages, unpaid overtime and harsh anti-union measures. The campaign urges those in charge of the gar­ment industry’s supply lines to protect their workers and treat them fairly.

This dynamic account of direct engagement by concerned consumers is a must read for those that see globalisation dif­ferently and want their shopping choices to support the most vulnerable people involved in the clothing industry.

Liesbeth Sluiter is a Dutch freelance photographer and journalist, who has worked for over 25 years with a passionate focus on environment, gender and global development issues. She is the author of The Mekong Currency (1993), published in the UK, the Netherlands, and Japan, and has written numerous articles on development and environmental issues. For the past three years she has focused on the issue of working conditions in the global garment industry and on the work of the Clean Clothes Campaign, a worldwide network that pushes for improvement of these conditions.

For further information, to request a review copy or to speak to the author please contact Jon Wheatley at jonw@plutobooks.com or on 0208 374 6424

New Edition of Vegan Cookbook Published to Meet Demand. Lancashire, UK.

In order to meet worldwide demand for her cookbook, Lancashire UK author Catherine Greenall has published a second edition of her vegan cookbook, ‘Vegans Can’t Eat Anything!‘ available now from Ingram distribution, booksellers, publisher Lulu and on-line retailers. The publisher and author apologise for the lack of availability of the first edition in some countries.

Catherine Greenall, as featured by BBC Radio Manchester, Lancashire Life, Lancashire Living, Ormskirk Champion and Mensa magazine, uses fresh, healthy, organic ingredients and the recipes range from regional Lancashire fare to international dishes. For example, ‘Bonfire Pie’ is based on a Lancashire dish eaten with pickled red cabbage on Bonfire Night and ‘Crispy Fried Tempeh and Vegetables in Indonesian Satay Sauce’ is based on a dish from Holland. The titles of the book and chapters originate from what some restaurants actually said when asked for their vegan options.

Catherine Greenall said “Many people are worried about heart disease, strokes and cancers. A vegan diet is excellent for reducing the risk of these diseases, for reaching and maintaining an ideal weight and improving general health. It is naturally high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in saturated fats.”

The meat and dairy industries use huge amounts of land and water and generate carbon emissions. This is one of the major contributors to global warming. Changing to a healthier diet not only improves health and reduces the risk of obesity but benefits the planet.

Available from: 

Ingram Book Company: http://www.ingrambook.com/retailers/default.aspx

Publisher Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/vegans-cant-eat-anything/7149029

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1409283852/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254925288&sr=1-2

We’ve been neglecting keeping our compatriots at Ethical Junction in the loop about developments in Leap’s world… Here are some of the latest happenings including the Leap designed – Good Energy Shop winning the observer ethical awards, a Leap designed children’s book ‘Tales of Porth’, winning a Big Tick for Climate Change from Business in the Community, gaining an ISO-14001 accreditation for our Environmental Management System, confrimation that Leap had achieved the Ethical Company Organisation’s Ethical Award and winning gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show in association with the Lost Gardens of Heligan…

Back
in April we were told of our success on behalf of the Cornish Language
Partnership and their Leap designed children’s book series ‘Tales from
Porth’:

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Matt Hocking, Director of Leap-design for
change; Pol Hodge, Cornish Language Consultant; Jenefer Lowe,
Development Manager for Cornish Language Partnership; Brian Hoskin,
Illustrator; Will Coleman, writer of ‘Tales from Porth’ and Kieran
Holden, Designer for Leap (Other Illustrator Emma McCann Not Pictured).

In June we won a Big Tick for Climate Change from Business in the Community:

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Peaches Gelding, Regional Director,
Business in the Community; Chris Maynard, PR and Marketing Coordinator
for Leap.

At around the same time the Good Energy Shop won The Observer Ethical for Best Online Retail Initiative:
“We can now say that Leap
designed the most ethical online retail site in 2009! That’s right
folks… Good Energy Shop won! Everyone is thrilled at the news and
we’d like to congratulate everyone at Good Energy for ensuring that a
great website is backed up with a great team and customer experience.
As the award was decided by nominations from customers, we’d like to
add to Good Energy’s words by thanking all those customers who voted
for the site.”

PICTURE
CAPTION: From Left to Right: Lucy Siegle, The Observer’s ethical living
columnist; Barney Rhys Jones, Good Energy MD; Colin Firth, actor, Oxfam
Ambassador and director of Fairtrade coffee shop chain
Progresso and Sophy Fearnley-Whittingstall, Head of PR and
Communication for Good Energy.

During July we were given our ISO-14001 accreditation for our Environmental Management System:
“After two years of hard graft and the training of four of our five
employees, we have now (last Tuesday in fact) been given our ISO-14001
accreditation.This is culmination of a huge amount of work and
drive by Matt and Jonny and singles us out as the only graphic design
studio in the South West (and maybe the country) that has achieved this
prestigious recognition.
The 14001 accreditation is concerned with
Leap’s environmental management system and calls for a measurable
reduction in all of its outputs year on year.”

Also in July Leap, in association with the Lost Gardens of Heligan won a gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show:

PICTURE CAPTION: From Left to Right: Lorna and Sarah with Claire England, Designer for Leap.

PICTURE CAPTION: From Left to Right: Sarah and Lorna Tremayne, Marketing and Media Manager from Heligan.

Last month we received confirmation that 

Leap had achieved the Ethical Company Organisation’s Ethical Award: