Green Building Store’s new Ecoplus³ range of windows & doors launched today (Thursday 30th June 2011) aims to meet the energy efficiency requirements of 2050 and beyond and comes with ultra efficient triple glazing as standard. Ecoplus³ also aims to systematically address the environmental impact of window manufacture, through use of FSC Pure timber, natural timber finishes, boron preservatives and UK manufacture.

Ecoplus³ is the third evolution of Green Building Store’s Ecoplus range since its launch in 1995, and is the most energy efficient Ecoplus range yet, with whole window U values as low as 0.86 W/m2K. Not surprisingly, Ecoplus³ triple glazed windows have also achieved an ‘A’ energy-rating in the BFRC energy rating scheme. Ecoplus has been at the cutting edge of sustainable window design for over 15 years. In 1995 it pioneered the use of safer boron timber treatments and, in 2005, was the first UK manufactured range of windows to be made using FSC Pure 100% timber.

According to Chris Herring, Green Building Store Director and designer of the Ecoplus³ range:
“Ecoplus³ is one of the most energy efficient oak or pine timber window & door ranges made in the UK and offers a unique environmental specification. Ecoplus³’s elegant outward-opening window design also works well in either traditional or contemporary settings, offering a beautiful and sustainable solution for retrofitting homes to low energy standards.”

Buildings can lose 10-25% of their heat through windows but this can be considerably improved through use of energy efficient glazing. Green Building Store believes that only triple glazed windows and doors will be the correct specification to complement the necessary super insulation measures which the existing housing stock needs to address the threat of climate change.

As well as offering high thermal performance, the Ecoplus³ range combines a number of  sustainable features. Ecoplus³ is handmade in Green Building Store’s Yorkshire workshops to high standards of quality and durability, using FSC Pure engineered pine or oak. Ecoplus³ is also treated with inorganic boron-based mineral salts, widely recognised as the safest and most environmentally benign treatment available.  It is then finished with OSMO natural plant based finishes, which are so safe they have been deemed safe enough to use on children’s toys (safety standard EN71).

As a special introductory offer, Green Building Store is offering 10% off all Ecoplus³ orders placed before 15/08/11. For more information on Ecoplus³ or for a FREE quote,  contact Green Building Store’s Ecoplus³ department on 01484 463336 or email: emma@greenbuildingstore.co.uk.

As a special introductory offer, Green Building Store is offering 10% off all Ecoplus³ orders placed before 15/08/11.

Green Building Store is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

   T-shirt is an introduction to the cotton industry, and how our use of
such a common piece of clothing impacts people all over the world.   

   T-shirt is one of the small books in the Trigger Issues series, whose focus is given as ‘One small item – one giant impact’, and the giant impact of the t-shirt is skilfully revealed in this guide. Troth Wells takes us on a whirlwind tour of the beginnings of the t-shirt itself, through the history of cotton farming and its links to slavery, leading very nicely to the issues surrounding the trade today. In eighty-eight pages she manages to convey a wealth of background information that left me wanting to find out more.

I was very impressed with how detailed the research was, yet the
book was easy to read and kept a sense of momentum right from the
start. I got a vivid impression of Wells’ passion for the subject, and
how relevant the issues raised are for today. I found that there was a
nice balance between statistics, such as in chapter 4 where we learn
how much of the world’s cotton supply each of the main competitors has,
or in chapter 2 where the explosive growth of the cotton trade due to
the Industrial Revolution is outlined; and narrative. I was
particularly intrigued by the development of the t-shirt from its
origins to today’s wardrobe staple, but equally fascinated by, for
example, Charles Ball’s account of slavery in the late eighteenth
century. Another section that I must highlight is also in chapter 2,
when Wells details the role of the East India Company in the
colonization of India. I actually felt slightly sickened at this point,
because it seemed to me to foreshadow the power of the corporation in
the world today. I do not know if this was intentional or not, although
I suspect so, and I do believe that it is an important point to make.

   
T-shirt is not a book for those wishing to do serious or extensive
research into the issues highlighted, such as slavery or exploitation
or the history of cotton; but then, it doesn’t pretend to be. It is,
however, a book that should be used frequently to start discussions, to
raise awareness of the issues facing workers in the garment industry
today, to remind people of the consequences of their shopping choices,
to promote the fair trade movement, and I could go on and on. I know
that I frequently read parts aloud to my husband, and that he was
almost as engaged in it as I was. T-shirt is also an excellent resource
if you need a quick fact, or to loan or give to a friend to start them
thinking.

    T-shirt  is excellent value for money. Although
it is a small book, this is actually one of its virtues as it means it
is easy to loan around and makes it more likely that people will take
the time to read it. The text is broken up by boxes containing
statistics, facts or ‘bonuses’, such as the account by Charles Ball
mentioned above, and this also makes the book less intimidating than it
might have been, without interrupting the flow and pace of the writing.
I highly recommend it to anyone with even the vaguest interest in the
subject.

Rebecca Brown

Forget double glazing, triple glazing should be the new standard!

Award-winning
sustainable building products supplier Green Building Store believes
triple glazing should become the standard choice for windows and doors
in the UK to help combat climate change. Triple glazed windows are
around 30% more efficient than double glazed and can significantly
improve the energy efficiency of homes, saving money on energy bills
and reducing CO₂ emissions.

As part of Green
Building Store’s commitment to promoting ultra low energy building
design, the company has switched its own Yorkshire based Ecoplus
window production to focus on triple glazing and, from 1st June 2009,
will be making argon filled triple glazing more affordable by offering
it at the same price as double glazing¹. Currently,
buildings can lose 10-25% of their heat through windows but this can be
considerably reduced by using energy efficient glazing. Ecoplus argon
triple glazed windows have a window U value of 1.0 W/m²/K,
which is 50% better than the requirements of current building
regulations. They are also Forestry Stewardship Council certified (FSC
Pure) in redwood or oak, as well as being hand finished using natural
paints and borate based timber preservatives.

Already
commonplace in regions with colder climates, such as Scandinavia,
triple glazed windows are also popular in countries such as Germany and
Austria where low energy buildings and Passivhaus² design
are encouraged. Chris Herring, Director at the Green Building Store
said, “In order to fight climate change we urgently need to improve
energy efficiency standards in UK buildings but necessary energy saving
measures also need to be made affordable. By increasing our production
capacity and absorbing the extra costs of triple glazing we hope that
this will allow more people to consider ultra efficient windows and
doors as a viable option when designing and refurbishing buildings.”

Green
Building Store has just won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable
Development 2009 for providing ‘cutting edge sustainable products’ and
for its ‘pioneering approach to sustainability’. As well as making
ultra efficient timber windows and doors, the company supplies:
water-saving sanitaryware (toilets, taps, showerheads etc); Passivhaus
products (windows, ventilation, airtightness products etc); and natural
building materials (sheep’s wool insulation, natural paints and
finishes etc). For more information, go to www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk or ring 01484 461705.