Fairtrade fortnight starts on 22nd February, just as Fairwind launches a new range of stunning contemporary home accessories.

Not only are these homewares fairly traded but, as they are made from recycled aluminium, they are eco-friendly too. The production of recycled aluminium uses only 5% of the energy needed to make new aluminium.

Aluminium tea light holders, £12.50
These fair trade aluminium tea light holders are perfect as house warming gifts, ethical wedding gifts or Mother’s day gifts. They are made from recycled aluminium and then enamelled in a choice of 3 deep colours; red, orange or chocolate. 12cm x 12cm x 9cm.

Multicoloured aluminium salad set, £49
This stunning salad set is made from recycled aluminium that has been enamelled with deep red, orange and chocolate colours. This set is wonderful as a wedding gift or house warming gift. The bowl can also be used as a fruit bowl or decorative accessory for any room in the house. Salad bowl: 31cm x 31cm x 6cm (£35), salad servers: 30cm x 8cm (£16). Safe for food use.

Aluminium oval bowls, £12 or £18
A house warming gift, ethical wedding gift or Mother’s day gift; these fair trade aluminium bowls are perfect for any gift occasion. They are made from recycled aluminium and then enamelled in a choice of 3 deep colours; red, orange or chocolate. They are also available in 2 sizes. Large: 23cm x 19cm x 8cm, small: 15cm x 12.5cm x 5cm. Safe for food use.

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

There is a great deal of talk about ‘greening’ your home on the outside to reduce energy costs and heat loss (and rightly so) but what about the inside of the property? Can we improve the carbon footprint environmental friendliness of our home interiors?

There are various factors to consider when looking at our home décor: the carbon footprint of each individual item in a room, such as the sofa manufacture, or the chemical content of the paint on the walls; the sustainability of the resources used for each product; and the health issues surrounding the products for your family e.g. off-gassing of paints and varnishes or MDF boards?  Let’s face it, unless we were lucky enough to start from scratch within the last few years, we all have houses that are pretty toxic and not very eco-friendly.

So how do you go about ‘greening’ the interior or your property? First of all, let me say what you shouldn’t do – do not jump in with both feet and scrap everything you possess in order to replace it with a ‘greener’ version. Our resources are scarce and the landfill sites are full. Take it one room at a time and take stock of what you have. Can some of the items be revamped and used in the new room scheme? Can they be passed on to a friend or needy student setting up their first home? Your local freecycle group will be grateful for pretty much any item – there is always somebody who can make use of something you no longer need.

Greening your rooms: Step by Step

Now that we have that straight, here is what to do next. Take it a room at a time and think carefully about the following aspects of the room:

• Lighting - Can the wattage of the lights in use be reduced? Do you need to introduce new light fittings with greater efficiency? How about building in some new technology such as timers, dimmers or sensor switches. LED designs are improving all the time and can look stunning in any room scheme.

• Flooring – Don’t scrap the old carpet if it still works for the room scheme you want. If it doesn’t work or is too worn, then look at the many different options out there such as bare or naturally stained/painted floorboards with rugs made of sustainable materials like wool, felt or sisal. The new style cork flooring or revamped rubber flooring or Marmoleum can look great in the right room and there are several companies out there launching 100% broadloom wool carpets that have been left undyed. Check out your local carpet retailer for more information.

• Wallcoverings - this aspect is becoming much easier with the growth of the natural paint market. Beware of some paint suppliers claiming to be ‘green’ because of low VOC content – they should have ‘0′ VOC content and if they don’t there are many out there who do! Wallpapers are now being produced using paper from managed forests and non toxic dyes and we have even discovered gorgeous ceramic tiles with 30-40% recycled content!

• Window Dressing - A great tip from Oliver Heath in his Urban Eco Chic book, is to try to bring as much light into a room as possible to reduce the amount of time we are reliant on electric lighting. Painting the window frame and sill white can help reflect light into the room as well as designing curtains or blinds that sit back from the windows and do not cover too much of the glass. Gecco Interiors carries a wide range of organic and sustainable fabrics and can make any of them into curtains or blinds with organic bamboo linen lining.

• Furniture - Finally, take a good look at your furniture. Can any of it work in the new scheme? Could a beloved chair of sofa be re-covered in a new organic upholstery fabric? Look at repainting a bookshelf or coffee table to give it a fresh look. Many second hand shops carry sets of stylish dining chairs which can look fabulous with a new seat cushion. Eco Style means that it does not have to match and it is often much more fun to have a collection of stylish yet slightly mismatched pieces in one room rather than everything looking uniform. Have fun creating your own style! If you do decide to buy new, take the time to source furniture made in an environmentally sensitive way using timber from FSC managed forests and as locally made as possible.

• Kitchens & Bathrooms – these are the rooms that can cost the most in any house, but they are often the most wasteful when it comes to energy or water usage. We are lucky these days that companies are innovating all the time and new technology has brought about energy efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings for both of these rooms. Many leading bathroom suppliers now carry low flow taps or showers and eco bathtubs that take much less water than traditional tubs. Rubber flooring, Marmoleum and recycled ceramic tiles come into their own in these room schemes and there are now some truly stunning worktops made from recycled materials such as wine bottles or shells! (check out Glass ECO)

For any other information or tips please do not hesitate to contact me at any time and I will love helping you to solve your eco design dilemma! You can reach me at angie@geccointeriors.co.uk

Gecco Interiors, a new online environmentally friendly interiors company has launched with a full collection of products for the home. In addition to being beautifully designed in mind, each of the products sold by Gecco also helps preserve the planet.

Founders Angie and James Kraft pride themselves on sourcing products that are genuinely stylish but also environmentally friendly. Passionate about green issues and sustainability in design, they have sourced a range of home interiors products that all have green credentials.

Each item sold online has been created by entrepreneurs who have had the courage and vision to look at their industry and to try to do things differently. This may come in the form of taking timbers from derelict factories in India and turning them into beautiful pieces of furniture, a four year long research project into the use of stinging nettles in upholstery fabric, or it may even be the massive financial investment in a purpose built factory in Stoke-on-Trent, where broken ceramic pottery is crushed and turned into new ceramic bathroom tiles.The team at Gecco Interiors sources only the best products designed to appeal to stylish eco-conscious consumers.

The site is easily navigated and broken down into seven sections:

1. Furniture – beautifully handcrafted and made from reclaimed timber

2. Curtains and blinds – made to order and hand finished with exclusive soft organic bamboo lining

3. Floor coverings – made from recycled materials

4. Fabric – using leading edge, organic and sustainable textiles

5. Lighting – elegant collection of the most up-to-date energy efficient lighting

6. Wall coverings – FSC certified wallpapers with natural dyes and non-toxic paints

7. Accessories – perfect for adding the finishing touches to an eco-friendly design scheme

Visit: http://www.geccointeriors.co.uk/ or call: 01494 565459

It’s already been ten weeks since we launched the Power Predictor, and you’re starting to generate some great information about the suitability of your sites for wind turbines and solar panels.

Exmoor farmer George Halliday appeared in our Case studies section when the Power Predictor helped him to determine the energy savings he could make and the most appropriate wind turbine for his farm (in this case a Proven 15kW).

He
has since been trying to secure planning permission for this turbine,
which, as he is in a National Park, is proving challenging. However, an
application for a 20kW turbine was recently successful on the West Ilkerton Farm in this National Park, so we’re crossing our fingers for George. We will keep you posted on his progress.

Our news . . .

Last week we appeared in the guest spot on The Guardian’s ‘Ethical Living Blog’. For anyone who would like to catch up on what was discussed, find our more here.

We’re pleased to introduce our Irish partner C-Mc Energy, distributor for the Power Predictor in the Republic of Ireland. Those interested in site assessment in Ireland can purchase a Power Predictor by contacting C-Mc Energy via their website.

We’ve set up a ‘Green Energy Blog’
on our website, which will be updated several times a week. Look out
for our pick of useful developments in green energy that we think you
should know about!

In the news . . .

This month in the news : A new generation of turbine has been developed, we’ve seen ideas to replace roads with solar panels
and we’re saying goodbye to the incandescent light bulb. Zopa and a new UK financing initiative can help finance your microgeneration project,
10 new Low Carbon Zones have been proposed in London, but can someone tell us why Britain is still investing in coal power?

Competition!

And finally, are you FEELING LUCKY?! We have just launched our free competition to win a Power Predictor! To enter simply pop over to www.bettergeneration.com. Good luck!

For daily updates join us on Twitter and Facebook!

All the best,

the Better Generation team

E-charger was picked as one of the three best portable chargers by the Metro on Friday 10th July 2009
Here is what they said
E-charger Pack this compact emergency charger and you’ll never be caught out with a dead phone, BlackBerry or iPod.£15, www.echarger.co.uk

Echarger Ltd is a small company
aiming to make a big difference to the environment by offering a range
of environmentally friendly – and extremely useful – battery and
mobile chargers for people on the move or out of reach of a standard
power supply.

Offering the following products: 
- emergency charger 
- solar mobile charger  
- solar bags ranging from business bags  
- messenger bags  
- city style bags  
- pouch  
 
Echarger’s range of fashionable, energy efficient and solar travel
chargers is available in a variety of formats to suit a wide range of
portable gadgets.  
 
The solar mobile charger, emergency charger and solar bags supplied
by the business are just right for any occasion. Available on the website,
the products are beautifully constructed and last for life.  
 
Echarger Ltd has an expanding network of clients, located in and around
London, including Eco friendly sites. The company is managed by Tony
Momoh who has been focusing on the business for many years. Having previously
worked for the IT industry, Tony Momoh is more than qualified to look
after the company.  
 
With a fully fitted workshop and fully qualified staff, the company
provides a professional b2b to businesses. The service is designed to
cost effective, enabling clients to make a difference to save the planet
economically. 
 
 Link to product review article  

http://www.lifegoggles.com/1738/echarger-emergency-charger-product-review/

Appearing
this month on the shelves in WH Smith and Borders nationwide, new eco-living
directory BOOK OF GREEN is the most comprehensive guide for everybody to
genuinely and easily green their lifestyles.

With
the general public currently becoming more receptive to living a more
eco-friendly life, this completely free guide points the consumer in the right
direction – it includes hundreds of approved ethical providers in a wide range
of sectors including business services, health and beauty, home and garden,
green energy, travel, parenting and food & drink.  All the companies
in the directory are in some way mostly or completely environmentally friendly,
sustainable, fair trade, organic,  ethical and socially responsible.

Book
of Green is intended to show everybody how to easily reduce their carbon
footprint, live a healthy lifestyle and make  a personal positive 
impact on the environment by integrating truly ethical products and services
into their daily home and family lives.

With
an initial print run of 30,000, the guide comes in a handy A5 format and is
printed in vegetable inks on 100% recycled paper.  An online flip magazine
version is also available at www.bookofgreen.com 
 Book of Green will be available in WH Smiths this July, attached to the
front of Permaculture Magazine as well as distributed across the UK in high
street eco stores, online eco stores, and at events during the summer as well
as at the Eden Project and the Kent Eco Village, the Kent Show by The
Ecologist, July 17-19.

Book
of Green is co-founded by Sue Jueno (founder of Allthingseco) and Katie Keegan
(founder of One Green Earth),
 whose combined experience of 6 years in the eco/ethical business arena
has given them the experience, knowledge and contacts to create a guide for
green living which everybody can trust.

“Being
green is more than reducing the threat of climate change, it’s also about
ethical trading and personal health.  The companies found within Book of
Green provide solutions across all sectors through their products &
services to help build a positive foundation for your family’s future
generations,”  says Katie Keegan.

“With
credit crunch in mind and a passion for promoting green shoot businesses we
have made Book of Green extremely affordable to advertisers and free to the
public to show off exceptional companies that are solving environmental
problems and that will be leading us into the future,” says Sue Jueno.

Throughout the months of June
and July, top chefs including Atul Kochhar (Benares restaurant), Vivek
Singh (Cinnamon Club & Cinnamon Kitchen), Navin Bhatia (Dockmasters
House), Mehernosh and Sherin Mody (La Porte des Indes), Sriram
Aylur (Quilon), Kuldeep Singh (Mela), Ajay Chopra (Mint Leaf Restaurant
and Bar, and Mint Leaf Lounge and Bar) and Sanjay Anand (Madhu’s)
will all come together to support Food For Thought
by adding a voluntary £1 to every bill in their restaurants. 

Hunger and malnutrition are
common experiences for families living in rural India.  Over the
months of June and July, the top Indian eateries will be joining forces
with charity Find Your Feet to strive to ensure that hunger and poverty
become experiences of the past for thousands of families living in northern
India.  The money raised from the Food for Thought promotion will
help FYF develop and expand its work to reach a further 6,000 families
in the coming year – so that 24,000 families have the opportunity to
build a better future.   

Recognized as their country’s
greatest culinary exports, these top chefs feel they are best placed
to raise the awareness of the plight of hunger and poverty that still
affects millions of families in rural India.

“Sharing a meal with good
company is one of life’s great pleasures. While we are enjoying the
delicate spices and vibrant flavours of our food, thousands of people
in my home state of Jharkhand in India are going to bed hungry every
day. I’m proud to be an ambassador for Find Your Feet’s Food
for Thought promotion.  Together, we can help make sure some
of the poorest families in rural India have enough food to eat not just
today but all year round.”

Atul Kochhar,
Chef Director, Benares 
 

“Food has given us (the chefs)a
great living and  has propelled us into the media spotlight. We
must now use our status to in turn bring food to families in rural India
that are suffering from hunger and malnutrition.”

Vivek Singh,
Chief Executive and Chef, Cinnamon Club & Kitchen 
 

To celebrate the launch of the
Food for Thought promotion, the chefs held a champagne reception at
Langtry’s Restaurant, Cadogan Hotel just off Sloane Street. Guests
included top food journalists and supporters of Find Your Feet and were
treated to mouth-watering canapés created by the award-winning Indian
chefs in the elegant surroundings of the historic Langtry’s restaurant.

For more information visit http://fyf.org.uk/news/foodforthought.htm

The Warren Evans team is celebrating today after triumphing at
The Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards 2009, one of the most coveted
green awards of the year.

The London-based bespoke bed and furniture maker was named
the 40th best green company in the UK, out of hundreds of entries,
beating off stiff competition from major retailers including Asda. It’s
not the first time that Warren Evans has triumphed in The Sunday Times Best
Green Companies Awards; it was also named as one of the top green companies in
the UK
in the 2008 awards.

The Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards recognises
those businesses in the UK
most dedicated to environmental issues, implementing green initiatives and
engaging their workforces.

Zoe Robinson, Sustainable Development Manager at Warren
Evans, is delighted at the win. She says: “It’s fantastic to be
recognised for a second year running. It’s a great boost for our team and
our customers to have this independent recognition that we’re doing our
bit for the environment and are using working practices that are as sustainable
as possible.”

Sustainability has been at the heart of Warren Evans’
philosophy since the company was established over 30 years ago. And for the
past two years, the company has been working hard making measurable changes, adapting
the way in which it works to minimise the impact it has on the environment. As
such Warren Evans:

• is still the ONLY UK
  bed manufacturer to be officially certified by the FSC (Forest
  Stewardship Council). All beds and furniture are made using woods from
  renewable sources
• offers a fully organic and
  orthopaedic mattress range for those keen to avoid chemicals and man made
  materials
• avoids using packaging. They wrap
  beds and furniture in reusable blankets rather than using cardboards and
  plastics, minimising unnecessary waste
• has consulted Government green body
  ‘Envirowise’ and government funded service Business Link for
  practical advice on efficiencies such as workflow, machinery and gaining staff
  support
• moved the traditional Camden workshop to a new,
  self created, green and efficient work space in Walthamstow. With help from an
  interest-free loan by the Carbon Trust, they were able to make this super green
  by purchasing environmentally friendly equipment including a bio-mass boiler
  (that heats the entire building using waste wood and sawdust as fuel) and
  intelligent wood cutting machinery to minimise waste
• … they also use recycled pens,
  print leaflets and price lists on recycled paper and even use recycled envelopes
  made from elephant poo!
• and scooped a further two
  environmental awards last year, a BCE Award and an Observer Ethical Award,
  recognising its total dedication to the environment and to its customers.

The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday evening in Covent
Garden, London,
with Warren Evans receiving the prize from Alastair McCall (pictured above).

Warren Evans is also nominated in the Best Local Retailer
category in The Observer Ethical Awards 2009; the winners will be announced
next month.

Ethical Fashion and Homewares that
don’t cost the earth – Jungle Berry Sale

Ethical retailer Jungle Berry is
running a breathtakingly brilliant spring sale, with loads of
bargains across their exclusive ranges of homewares, rugs, bags and
jewellery.

Sale products include naturally-dyed
rugs, gorgeous clutches, handwoven cushion covers, oil burners and
placemats, as well as fashion jewellery designed by Suzanne Campbell
for Jungle Berry. You won’t find Jungle Berry products anywhere
else!

Beautiful because they’re
beautiful, and beautiful because they’re ethical.

With an extensive product range
designed in the UK and made in Brazil and Mexico, Jungle Berry’s
philosophy centres on the idea that fair trade products should be
intrinsically desirable, not just because they’re associated with a
good cause, but because they’re stylish and beautiful.

A Berry Good Idea

Founded in 2004, Jungle Berry works in
partnership with indigenous cooperatives in the heart of the Amazon
rainforest and southern Mexico to create sustainable livelihoods for
local people by making fair trade jewellery, homewares and
accessories.

Jungle Berry has been recognised as a
fair trade importer by the British Association of Fair Trade Shops
(BAFTS) since 2005.

Review by The Green Familia

I was really intrigued when I saw the
Eco Ezee Paint Tray – it seems such a simple idea. We are currently
renovating our house and are going to be doing a lot of painting.
When I have decorated before I’ve always used the traditional
plastic painting tray and roller. I never liked having to wash all
the paint out of the plastic tray when I finished and was impressed
by Eco Ezee’s claim that their tray can be reused without washing
it out! A brilliant idea! So, I gave it a go to see just how well it
works.

Concept: The Eco Ezee Paint Tray
is designed as an alternative to all the plastic and metal trays
currently available. It is made from 100% recycled waste material.
When you have finihsed painting, there is no need to use water to
wash the tray – just wipe out any excess paint and leave to dry. Any
paint left will soak into the tray and dry.

In use: The Eco Ezee tray is
very easy to use – it is just like any other paint tray. The tray
holds paint well and the roller section helps you get a good coverage
of paint on the roller. There is also a very useful little gap at the
end of the roller section which I found perfect for holding
paintbrushes. I thought the tray might become ’soggy’ when I used
it, but I was pleased to see that it held the paint well the whole
time I was using it. Although I could feel the paint soaking into the
tray, I never thought that it would ‘give’ or tear. It always
felt very strong.

The cleverness of the Eco Ezee’s
design really becomes apparent when you have finished painting.
Instead of having to wash the tray out, I wiped out the leftover
paint (if you have a lot of paint left you could pour that into a can
first to use again). Once all the excess paint was gone I just left
the tray to dry! No washing, which saved me time and water. When I
used the tray the next time, the paint had dried into the tray and it
was ready to use again. As the paint soaked into the tray, there is
no flaking or peeling like you get on plastic trays. The tray was
perfect and ready to be reused.

Positives: I loved everything
about this tray – it is made from recycled waste materials, it’s
easy to use, it can be used again and again and it needs no washing.
It will also last a long time. The paint that soaks into the tray
when you have finished using it, helps to make the tray stronger the
more it is used.

Negatives: None at all.

Cost: The Eco Ezee Paint tray
costs about £1.50, depending on where you buy it, which I think is
excellent value for money.

Where can I buy it?: A list of
suppliers is available on the Eco Ezee website, in the Where to Buy
Section. As well as being sold at Travis Perkins, the tray can also
be purchased from several online suppliers such as Ecotopia and My
Little Eco.

Verdict: 5/5 – a very clever
product.