Spring 2009 sees the addition of new mineral make up brand, Inika
Cosmetics, to the So Organic beauty department. Inika are made in
Australia from crushed minerals. They are 100% vegan and do not contain
any of the synthetic chemicals found in conventional brands.

The leading organic lifestyle store is excited to have this new make up brand as part of their total natural beauty selection and is offering 20% off all Inika make up until the end of April. Samantha comments: “I love this new natural make up range. THE best coverage from a foundation I’ve ever had but even better it’s so versatile – I use it as a concealer, foundation and powder.”

So Organic and The Girl’s Experience will host an organic make up night to demonstrate the products and explain the benefits of natural cosmetics. So Organic founder and organic beauty guru, Samantha Burlton, will be joined by two specialist Inika make up artists for The Girl’s Experience evening at Boujis in South Kensington on the 28th of May 2009.

The complete range of Inika make up, available from www.SoOrganic.com 

Chorlton, Manchester
4 April 2009

Organised by local volunteers this event is being shaped by the help and support of dozens of Manchester based musicians, charities, organisations and community groups. The day wil feature:

• A fancy dress bicycle parade
• a food foraging walk
• A swap area
• A personal well being area
• A variety of topical films
• Lots of locally sourced food and drink
• A wealth of local plugged in and acoustic musicians
• Information and workshop spaces
• A variety of environment related talks

For full details please visit the festival website – www.greenchorlton.org.uk

New EJ member Fair Trade Faerie proudly announces its recent Bafts Accreditation

Fair Trade Faerie are a young, up-and-coming business, passionate about bringing fairtrade products to a wider audience.

Founder, Sue Lindsay, said, “My dream was to source stylish, contemporary, high quality and affordable products and make fair trade and natural skin care available to a wider audience. All products on offer are selected by me for their quality & fairtrade provenance.”

High quality goods, affordability and personal customer service are
Fair Trade Faerie’s priority and, in order to maintain these standards,
Sue works closely with a select number of certified Fair Trade
importers and small, family based natural skincare manufacturers. As a
result thebusiness has grown rapidly with new products and ranges being
added regularly. Why not visit their online store > > >

As part of our United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) commitments to respect human rights and labour rights, Article 13 supports Fairtrade Fortnight.

Fairtrade advocates fairer conditions for workers, suppliers and producers in less developed areas, has a critical role in alleviating poverty and working towards a more sustainable and fairer world. Article 13 have made it a priority to regularly purchase Fairtrade products and raise awareness of the difference fairtrade can make.

Why Fairtrade?
It has been reported that a third of humanity still survive on less
than $2 a day (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/). Unfair trade is said to
undercut producers in developing countries, which leads to farmers
being driven further into poverty. Unfair trade also plays a large role
in increased poverty within developing countries, with farmers and
producers having their human rights infringed and not receiving nearly
enough compensation for their long work hours.

Fairtrade refers to the promotion of sustainability and social
empowerment of producers, primarily within developing countries.
Fairtrade Fortnight is a social movement which aims… “to tip the
balance of trade in favour of poor producers.” Through choosing to purchase fairtrade
products individuals can have a beneficial impact on the fairer
treatment of the farmers and producers who operate mostly at the bottom
of the supply chain.  

Fairtrade Fortnight
Fairtrade Fortnight (2009) is an important campaign to encourage people
to purchase Fairtrade. The campaign is titled “Make it happen. Choose
Fairtrade”. This campaign aims to encourage individuals, retailers,
businesses, producers and campaigners to organise fairtrade events,
promote awareness and incorporate fairtrade in their purchasing
decisions. Through a collective response to this campaign from a huge
range of stakeholders, we have the power to potentially change the
livelihoods of farmers, sustainably benefit areas of the developing
world and on a larger scale help reduce world poverty. This Fairtrade
Fortnight (2009) will hopefully culminate in a sales world record for
the purchase of fairtrade products, despite the recession.

What we can do?
Below is a list of examples how we can make a difference:

• Make fairtrade a part of your purchasing decisions.
• Start a fairtrade event, e.g. run a fairtrade breakfast club or set up a fairtrade stall. 
• Businesses can promote greater awareness of their full range of
  fairtrade products and make their products more visible in store.
• Increase media coverage of fairtrade and wider trade justice issues, e.g. magazine and newspaper articles.

For more ideas and information visit http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/.

Contact information
Please contact Fiona Banyard on fionab@article13.com or call 020 8840 4450
Please also see Article 13’s website www.article13.com

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the only time mothers’ get to themselves are the ten minutes spent in the shower on any given morning (apologies to Jane Austen).

Why not give her something to make that time even more enjoyable? Purely Skincare is a delicious range of 100% natural toiletry products with absolutely no synthetics whatsoever, just gorgeously mild and gentle for any skin type.

The Purely Skincare product range includes a shampoo, conditioner,
bath & shower wash, face wash and moisturiser. 

Available in a
choice of bright, citrussy Organic Grapefruit & Lemongrass, an
energizing, uplifting fragrance blend and especially suitable for
congested skin in need of balance and toning; or a subtle floral blend
of Organic Lavender & Palmarosa, especially suitable for women’s
skin as it combines the healing, relaxing properties of lavender with
palmarosa oil – a wonder ingredient that encourages natural moisturized
skin and actually stimulates cellular renewal, so excellent for more
mature skin types.

Not only are the products beautiful to use, but they also won’t bust
the budget at just £5.99 each – so if you want to be really generous,
you could buy a complete set for under £30.

The range has been approved by the Vegan Society, and rated ‘green’ by
Greenpeace.  And we never, ever have or would test on animals…we
promise.

Available in high street health stores, or check stockists online at www.purelyskincare.co.uk

responsibletravel.com launches wedding gift list service

Leading ethical travel company responsibletravel.com is sharing the green love with the launch of its new wedding gift list service, giving the chance to contribute to an eco honeymoon.

The new service will mean friends and family can help the happy couple on the way to their dream honeymoon – whether it’s a safari, a luxurious beach holiday or a romantic weekend away in England.

With over 3,000 holidays and places to stay on the site – all of
which have been screened to meet strict responsible tourism guidelines
- couples will be spoilt for choice.

See www.responsibletravel.com/weddinglist for more information.

To
mark the launch, responsibletravel.com is giving would-be romantics the
chance to win a weekend away to Coriander Cottages in Fowey, Cornwall.
To enter, visit: www.responsibletravel.com/valentinescompetition

Following lengthy negotiations, rigorous testing procedures and paperwork to conform with the Japanese cosmetic regulations and import licences, Beyond Organic Skincare have been accepted into Japan in record time.

For a while it seemed like we were launching our products for the first
time, there was so much paperwork and so many hoops to be jumped
through. Now the process is complete, it is extremely worthwhile!

Japanese cosmetic regulations are much stricter, in some ways, than
European ones, so although they take into account the organic
certification, they insist on a minimum amount of additives.  The
pureness and ‘no fluff’ approach of Beyond Organic ingredients, meant
they were almost ‘tailor made’ for the Japanese market.

The Japanese organic market is in it’s ‘infancy’ compared to the U.K.
and they are aware that it has huge growth potential.  They told us
that they had tried lots of organic products and ours was the first
that “really delivered”!  They also loved our ethics and green,
ecological principles.  They were taken by the ‘About Us’ page on our
website, that also contains a Buddhist blessing ‘About You’ to all our
customers. They will be stocking our whole range of products.

There was a bit of ‘serendipity’ at work in all of this.  A few days
after LuvP Planet contacted us, requesting a meeting, The Four Seasons
Hotel Spa in Tokyo, contacted us also, asking if we had a distributor
in Japan as they were very  interested in stocking our products.  So,
by the time we were able to meet up with LuvP Planet, we had a ‘ready
made’ customer in Tokyo, for our new distributors to follow up.  They
have done this with extreme efficiency, and this is now where the
products are to be launched.

LuvP Planet is a distributor that says of itself “ Our company LuvP
Planet Inc. has 40 years history, and in 2008, we have decided to
launch an on-line business in the organic personal care area at the end
of July 2008. The shortage of 100% organic products in the Japanese
market has caused us to make this decision – to introduce the highest
quality organic personal care products/brands to the Japanese

consumers.” And …..the main concept of our natural personal care
business is to introduce holistic approaches, emphasizing three main
streams – a) outside approach, b) intake approach, and c) approach to
your heart.

We are impressed not only with the product range you have, but also the
values (May you be Happy and Peaceful) and the passion you have
expressed  on your website.”

Our new exclusive distributor in Japan is:

LuvP Planet Inc.

Akasaka 6-4-17-1101 Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 107-0052

Tel: +81-3-6912-1531

Fax: +81-3-3584-1554

URL: http://www.luvp-planet.com/

These products will be launched at a PR event at the Four Seasons Hotel and Spa in Tokyo on February 10th.

Charity calls for support to champion its new eco/ethical range

On March 7th, Help the Aged will be launching well, a new retail concept which will promote products and lifestyles that will contribute towards “Better living, Better life.”

The well product range will comprise of over 110 ethically sourced and environmentally friendly products which will all be of high quality and competitively priced. The products will include homeware, fashion, confectionery, body care, holistic therapies, gardening and wildlife items. All well products will be available to purchase online at www.helptheagedshop.co.uk in 90 selected shops nationwide, and via a mail order catalogue.

The Charity’s donated goods business will work alongside the new
concept and will be deemed well-recycled in well shops as it will
continue to be paramount to the environmental message of Help the Aged
shops acting as recycling centres on the high street.

As the well concept will be about community, connecting with
others and the environment, Help the Aged is appealing for volunteers
to help promote it in their local communities by, for example,
appearing in the local press, distributing posters and cards, speaking
to community groups and visiting holistic therapy centres.

Jenifer Brenner, Retail & Trading Communications Manager at Help the Aged said:

 ‘We are aiming to recruit volunteers as champions who will go
out and about in their local area and promote the well concept of
helping people achieve a healthier, happier lifestyle and develop a
positive attitude to the environment that will enable them to approach
later life with energy and confidence.

These new voluntary roles will be ideal for members of the
public who enjoy meeting new people in their local communities and who
are interested in supporting the work of Help the Aged but would like
to do something a little bit different. It will give them great
satisfaction to know that all of the profits generated by the well
range will help further the charitable work of Help the Aged fighting
to free older people from poverty, isolation and neglect.’

For further information about becoming a well champion please contact Jenifer Brenner jenifer.brenner@helptheaged.org.uk

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

Put Spring back into your skin the natural way with buyOrganics’ expert advice

Despite months of slathering on creams, protective serums, blocks and foundations to shield our skin from the harsh winter elements, all of us are no doubt desperate to get back to the fresh, sun-kissed glow that is now just a memory from last year’s summer holiday….

It’s not always about what you put onto your skin however – as we are
all aware, most skincare products contain mind-bogglingly long lists of
ingredients, many of which are synthetic and quite possibly harmful
when absorbed into the skin and bloodstream, building up to cause
allergies, irritancy and even disease.

Organic skincare is the perfect solution – and buyOrganics’
range of carefully selected products will set you
up for the spring – sloughing off the winter and protecting new skin so
you’re ready to face the world again!  Two of buyOrganics’ ranges are
perfect to ease this transformation – and expert advisors from both
Essential Care and Organic Apoteke have some great tips and advice as
well.

Margaret Weeds of quality, affordable organic range Essential Care
says, “The skin is the largest elimination organ of the body, so using
chemical-free skincare products all year round will reduce toxic load,
but in order to slough off the winter from our skins, improving
sluggish circulations, focusing on exfoliation and extra moisturisation
with vitamin-rich plant oil products will pay dividends.”   

Margaret suggests using the Essential Care Tea Tree &Green Clay
soap or their Honey & Oatmeal facial bar to gentle exfoliate the
face, and to use a fine scrub mitt, brush or loofah with any of their
soaps, for the rest of the body.  Splash on cold water to boost
circulation and close pores the natural way.  

Cleanse with an Essential Care cleanser, followed by Rose Petal or
Citrus Tonic to gently tone the skin without stripping or irritation. 
Says Margaret, “For a fantastic glow and vitamin boost I strongly
recommend finishing with a couple of drops of Organic Superfruit
Concentrate.”

Left with dry, flaky or chapped skin from the cold, wind and central
heating?  Essential Care’s Ultra Rich Balm is economical and
multitasking, suitable for use anywhere on the body.  For particularly
badly cracked hands or heels, and even according to customer feedback,
psoriasis, use their Calendula Balm.

If you aren’t fussed about the pennies, then luxury skincare range
Organic Apoteke offers several products which are pure pampering heaven
– indulge in one or two special skincare treats from the range in
addition to your everyday cheaper products for perfect skin which won’t
cost the earth.

Dr Nitasha Buldeo, creator of the Organic Apoteke range, also offers a
simple and fun weekend detox plan to get the whole body, inside and
out, ready to face the world again.   As well as drinking plenty of
water, avoiding dairy, fried foods, preservatives and carbonated
drinks, she particularly recommends the following Organic Apoteke
products for glowing, toxin-free skin:  for the face, Active Face
Cleanse Gel and Active Herbal Toner, moisturise with their Active Face
Hydrating Gel and even have a go with the super cleansing Detox Face
Mask.  Use the Organic Apoteke Body Cleanse Gel and Body Hydrate Oil
both in Sicilian Orange & Mandarin to cleanse and moisturise the
body.

All products are available at top organic lifestyle online store buyOrganics: www.buyorganics.co.uk