Posts by Joanna

The hot weather has been beating down all week, and I don’t know about everyone else, but my thoughts have been turning to picnics, barbeques and enjoying myself in the open air.

There’s the perfect opportunity to get involved in this summery vibe coming up – put the 19th of July into your diary - the nationwide ‘Big Lunch’ is coming right to your doorstep! Well, only if you choose to get involved, but we think that this countrywide picnic sounds like a great plan.

The idea is that two weeks tomorrow, millions of us throughout the UK will choose to sit down and have lunch together, wherever we fancy. It’s a great excuse for a street party, and a wonderful way to have a fun day with family, friends and neighbours. Just register on the Big Lunch website - www.thebiglunch.com -  to plot your event on the Big Lunch map, sort the food and get the invites out, and you’ll be good to go.

We’ve teamed up with the lovely folks at Divine Chocolate to devise a The Big Lunch Fair Trade Hamper to make sure your party goes with a swing.  It’s designed to take away the hard work by creating your picnic for you - complete with delicious sweet treats as well as something healthier to munch on, not to forget drinks for adults as well as the kids. In fact all you really need to add is the sandwiches!

We’d love to know if you’re planning to get involved in the Big Lunch – where are you, who are you inviting, and how are you bribing the weatherman…?

Image via: foodforlife.org.uk

It hasn’t passed our notice here at EthicalSuperstore  that two of our most popular blog topics have been regarding the poignant question of ethical beauty products – skincare, hair care, make up and make up removers that don’t cost the earth are right up there at the top of many peoples’ priority lists.

Whether it’s a guilty secret or one of your greatest pleasures, everyone loves to pamper themselves every now and again. This might involve a quiet moment with a book or an indulgence in your favourite sweet treat rather than a face-mask or a luxury body scrub, but for myself personally, I enjoy nothing better after a hard day than enjoying a nice hot bubble bath, beautifully scented and wonderfully relaxing.

With so many different beauty and skincare products on the market it’s often hard to know which way to turn. We all know by now that we ought to avoid phalates, sodium lauryl sulphates and other nasties (worryingly still found in many mainstream brands of skincare and cosmetics), however where do you go from there? Do you buy natural products, or only opt for those with certifiably organic ingredients? Do you stick to vegan-friendly pampering, or is it more an issue of avoiding animal cruelty that is at the top of your list?

But there has been one glaring omission in the market which has puzzled me on several occasions. One type of pamper product that has been conspicuously absent from both specialist and supermarket shelves is Fairtrade Labelled skin treats – up until now.

We are delighted to be able to unleash Fairtrade Labelled Bubble & Balm onto our shelves today – this delightful new ethical skincare range has been developed in conjunction with the Fairtrade Foundation, and is set to transform my own pampering sessions, as well as do great things leading the march in the world of cosmetics.

Bubble & Balm looks great in its stylish silver pots and bottles, and each potion and lotion smells fabulous too. But much, much more than this, the message given by the Fairtrade Mark is that the producers working alongside Bubble & Balm are getting a great deal, which says a lot both about the company, and about the people who buy these products and support this Fairtrade cosmetic pioneering first.

Whether it’s Fairtrade Shea Butter sourced from a producer co-operative in Burkino Faso, or Fairtrade Cocoa Butter from a small-scale farmer co-operative in the Dominican Republic which tempts you first, these products give you the best of both worlds – these moisturisers, body oils and bath salts are naturally produced, using natural ingredients, and come with the world’s leading Fairtrade Certification too.

We’d love to know how you find Bubble & Balm, and what your take is on expanding the Fairtrade Labelling system to cover an ever-growing range of products. Will Fairtrade Labelling for skincare and pampering products change your priorities when you’re making your own purchases? I know it’s certainly something which will change my habits.

So next time you have a ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall…’ moment, take a moment to think about it…who IS the fairest of the all???

India is a remarkable country. After only a three week visit I’m hardly qualified to say that I know it well, but during my trip I certainly got a wonderful impression of the place, the people and the varied and colourful histories of the different areas.

It’s a country of extreme contrasts: from dry and arid deserts to humid jungles and back waters, but I think the starkest contrast is that of the way that people have, and still do live. With World Fair Trade Day around the corner, it’s a good time to recognise and reflect upon these contrasts, and give extra recognition and a round of applause to the people who are working towards making a difference.

Upon my arrival in Delhi, I was lucky enough to be introduced to the people behind Tara Projects, a long established Fair Trade organisation which is helping to make a difference for the people involved in their programmes. Having never visited a workshop of this kind before I was really excited to be able to visit and discover more of what goes on behind the scenes, and meet the driving forces behind the widespread good work that this organisation achieves.

Read the rest of Fair Trade in Action - My Visit to Tara Projects »

Peaches Geldof lives her life in the limelight. As the daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, Peaches has had a high profile right from day one, and as one of the UK’s most prolific socialites she’s rarely out of the glossy mags.

Some people might be tempted to criticise her for having life handed to her on a plate, but today we’re applauding Miss Geldof for going the extra mile. Proving that she’s listened to some of the lessons that her dad’s work has taught her, Peaches has been working alongside one of our favourite fair trade jewellery manufacturers, Made, to design and produce a fabulous new range of handmade fairly traded jewellery which we think really hits the spot.

In Peaches’ own words:

“I like Made because it’s ethical yet this doesn’t compromise the fashionable status of their collections…the handmade attention to detail adds something special to each piece created.”

This bold, bright and stylish range was inspired by warm summer days and daisy chains. It’s the perfect way to jazz up your summer wardrobe as the days (slowly!) start to get a little warmer.

Photo via: peachesgeldof.net

Whilst enjoying my tea and toast this morning, I was pleased to hear the news announcer declaring that America anticipates pulling itself out of the recession by the end of the year. This headline was music to my ears, as surely global recovery will eventually follow. I’m sure everyone is as sick of hearing about ‘the current economic climate’ as I am, so an end to this Credit Crunch will be a huge relief.

With so much doom and gloom in the media, one would be forgiven for thinking that everything in our economy has ground entirely to a halt. However here at Ethical Superstore we’re absolutely delighted that even in this current economic climate (sorry – I couldn’t resist using the phrase!), people are still staying true to their beliefs and their ethics and continuing to buy what they believe.

Beliefs and principles are important to all of us, but the good news for consumers is that often products that are easy on the environment don’t need to cost you a fortune - We’ve got plenty of energy saving gadgets which will help you to reduce your fuel bills, and many of our household and cleaning selection are great money savers too. But beyond these items, we are so pleased that so many of you are staying faithful to your loyalty to fair trade and organic products amongst other beliefs, despite their (often unfounded) reputations for being slightly more expensive.

Read the rest of Credit Crunch Defying Ethics »

Mothers are great. They do so much for us every day, but sometimes we forget to say thank you quite as much as we ought to.

This is where Mother’s Day steps in - it’s a chance for us all to think about our Mums, and most importantly, it’s a chance to say a great big Thank You.

Here at EthicalSuperstore we’ve got loads to thank our Mum’s for…

But what is the best way to say thank you?

Our number one tip is to make sure you put thought into it - after all, whether you can be with your Mother on Mother’s Day or not, they definitely deserve recognition and some top notch looking after - they’ve certainly earned it.

We’ve got lots of Mother’s Day gifts here at EthicalSuperstore which might help you out on your quest for the perfect thank you. Flowers are lovely (especially fair trade flowers), organic pampering and natural beauty products are pure luxury, and ethical jewellery can’t fail to hit the spot, but I do feel like something a little more would be a good idea.

So we’ve racked our brains and come up with a masterplan…

…just click the promise voucher above, print it out, then fill it in as appropriate and deliver. Don’t limit yourself to Mother’s Day with this one - You could give a voucher any day of the year as it doesn’t actually need to cost you a penny - it’s definitely a case of ‘the thought that counts’, making it a perfect Credit Crunch busting Mother’s Day gift idea.

It’s the perfect way to treat your Mother, because you can tailor it perfectly - and even better for your Mum, she can cash in your gift whenever she fancies.

This is a gift that keeps on giving - it’s a surefire Mother’s Day winner!

Just a glimpse of one of those ‘You don’t have to be crazy to work here.. but it helps’ notices is normally enough to send a shiver down my spine.  Today however, everyone at Ethical Superstore was ‘going bananas’.
The reason – we’re taking part  in a bona fide world record attempt organised by the Fairtrade Foundation which hopefully will raise awareness of Fairtrade and the benefits it delivers to third world producers.

We don’t need too much encouragement to find an entertaining or unconventional twist to proceeding so we thought we’d share with you some video of one of our banana eating escapades.  We made a banana ice cream – using a prospective new product – a people powered ice cream maker.

Despite it’s hamster ball styling this is a product that definitely puts the fun into functional, and the resulting ice cream was very cool in both senses of the word.

Read the rest of Record Shakers! »

Anane Mensah sharing his Divine story

This morning, Ethical Superstore was proud to welcome two of the cocoa famers from the Kuapa Kokoo Fairtrade cocoa cooperative, located in Ghana, West Africa. The cocoa that this co-operative grows, cuts and dries is used to make Divine Chocolate, which is certainly more than enough to make all of us sit up and pay attention.

The name ‘Kuapa Kokoo’ means ‘The Good Cocoa Farmers Company’. It’s a bit of a tongue twister in Ghanaian, but it has a good ring to it, and is certainly evocative of the faraway country from where the cocoa originates. It’s a name to be conjured with, and a name which is synonymous with Fairtrade success, as the stories of Mr Anane Mensah and Mr James Adiyiah told us first hand.

Anane’s and James’ roles in the co-operative are important ones. They are both Recorders, charged with the task of weighing and recording the amount of cocoa which is farmed and processed to be sold. Being responsible for the amount each farmer is paid is a large responsibility, and through this job they have both gained a respected place and influence in the Kuapa Kokoo community.

Read the rest of A Divine Cocoa Breakfast »

It would probably be fair to say that the majority of the population are familiar with the notion of Pancake Day, but how many people actually think of it as Shrove Tuesday, the final day of reckoning before Lent is upon us?

Giving up an indulgence for the 40 days between Shrove Tuesday and Easter Day can be thought of as a personal challenge as well as religious tradition, and a quick whip around the EthicalSuperstore HQ has revealed that there are a fair number of people stepping up to the test.

The most popular item that staff here are giving up is chocolate, followed closely by coffee, crisps, alcohol and fried takeaway breakfasts. Excluding such junk food items from our daily diets is sure to make us healthier, and the achievement of completing a challenge is always a nice buzz too. And if you don’t want to cut certain food items out completely, changing your habits and only buying Fairtrade and organic as Helen has described in her Fairtrade Fortnight Challenge blog is a great idea.

We’d love to know whether the rest of you are giving anything up for Lent – are you joining us in cutting out the unhealthy foodstuffs, or do you have other inspiration and challenges for us?

Image: mrhayata - Flickr

I know I’m a little premature with this one, but with the festive season over yet winter still upon us, my mind is turning to holidays. You must have noticed the travel agents’ New Year advertising campaigns trying to tempt us all with the promise of the exotic, and year on year increasing numbers of Brits are taking the pundits up on their offers, and fleeing the country searching for weather, activities and the holiday atmosphere that you just don’t get in the UK.

I’m feeling like one of the lucky ones at the moment. Rather than still having several months to wait, I shall be jetting off to foreign lands sooner than most – in only a few weeks time I shall be exploring all that India has to offer. It’s a trip I’ve been looking forward to for a while now, and although I’m sure the country has many challenges to offer, I don’t think India will fail to disappoint in terms of beauty and wonder, cultural diversity and tasty food.

In the face of such excitement in anticipation of a holiday, there is nevertheless a big issue looming… It’s all very well looking on at SkiDubai’s desert snow dome in judgement when I myself am indulging in totally unnecessary long-haul flying. Ok, so one trip to India versus 3 football-pitches of snow frozen exclusively for Dubai’s affluent skiers may not be an entirely equal comparison, but where exactly do you set your boundaries for what is, and what isn’t acceptable as a luxurious indulgence. It is possible to indulge in chocolate ethically with brands such as Green & Black’s and Divine, but is there such a thing as ethical long-haul flying? Offsetting the carbon emissions of your flight is a good place to start when journeying abroad (you can offset the carbon emissions of your shopping here at EthicalSuperstore too) but I’m not convinced that even that can entirely assuage the negative impact of aeroplane travel.

Read the rest of Ethical Adventuring and Green Getaways »