With International Women’s Day coming up I’d like to celebrate the work (aka love) of some amazing women I know, one who I don’t personally know who died in 1996 but whose work is still being continued in her name and one who isn’t a woman . . . yet. The list is alphabetical so as to avoid any hair pulling, face scratching or the like.

• Karen Canard – Queen of Rubbish

• Emmeline Child – Eco-fashionista

• Kate Corder – Art of Nature

• Little Miss Green – Green Princess

• Lisa Jackson – PRfection

• Sue Jueno – All Things Eco

• Diana Korchien – Calendar Girl

• Frances Laing – Lady of the Allotment

• Tracey Smith – Doyenne of Downshifting

• Melissa Sterry – Classy and Clever

• Rachelle Strauss – Green Goddess

• Tracey Todhunter – Low Carbon Queen

• Lorna Young – Fairtrader

• Vera North – My sister who doesn’t have a website but if it wasn’t for her I’d probably be dead, homeless or in an asylum. 

Thank you ladies and all the women just like you.

Have you got a flare for features writing?

If so EcoChic would love to hear from you. Send them your ideas on ethical and fair trade fashion, ethical trade, environmental issues, social and political and eco news and, if they like it, they’ll publish it and you could win a best feature EcoChic Gift Voucher worth £25.00

Contact: features@ecochiccollection.co.uk

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Networking Event, Piccadilly House, Manchester
Thursday 19th March, 6pm – 8.00pm
Find out more > > >

Come along to network with like-minded entrepreneurs and get some top tips from our guest speaker, Chris Hough, on how to make your business stand out on the web.

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

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

40% off the top 20 Greenleaf titles

As a special end-of-year offer for 2008 – and as a run-up to our 10th birthday in 2009 – we have decided to compile a list of our 20 all-time bestsellers. And for a limited period they are all available with 40% off.

This is an unmissable opportunity to grab some excellent titles. But order now – offer ends 31st December.

You can view the full list here.

Attend a free wedding event on Monday 15 December at 7.30pm at Mama Ocean in Brighton

The authentic wedding connection (tawc) is a chance to sit down to chat with like-minded people about the idea of an ethical or green wedding and whether
this is something that might work for you and if so, how to go about it.

To find out more visit the tawc website.

The date for this year is Sunday 5 October from 10am – 5pm. in the Market Hall, Abergavenny. We have backing from Fairtrade Wales as well as local businesses and Abergavenny Council. There will be plenty of local and regional press coverage as well as BBC Wales.

Last year saw a huge attendance and we will increase this year. Stalls last year included – Love Zimbabwe, Goodies from the Gambia, Bag- Age, Bryn – y – Cwm project, Smouldering Sage,Biltong 2 U,Tropical Forest, Fairtrade Abergavenny & Crickhowell, Tools for self reliance, VSO, etc.

We also had fantastic catering from Scrumptious catering and Taste Zimbabwe. We will be having the Fairtrade fashion show again and the drumming workshop from Dave Roberts. Also, hopefully the amazing Chrys Blanchard and Abercapella. We have a school group performing African Dance and hope to be bringing over from Zimbabwe Sam Mtukudzi son of Oliver (Tuku) the most well known Zimbabwean artiste.

There will be a childrens area this year with face painting and a bouncy castle. Music and entertainment will be going on all day and there will be lots more to announce as we get nearer to the date. I realise that it is still relatively early, but it would help us enourmously if those who are interested in taking a stall this year could let me know as soon as possible. Looking forward to seeing you all in October.

Kind Regards,
David and Martha Holman.

Email: fairsfairfairs@mail2world.com
Telephone: 07879400897 / 07774608215 / 01873854055