Posts by John

hip to be square

Huey Lewis is perhaps more famous for his contribution to the ‘Back to the Future’ soundtrack than as environmental spokesman. Even if his green activity is only the result of the way my brain links song titles and causes.  I’ll attempt to explain.

I’m regularly surprised by people’s appetite for avoiding personal responsibility. If that sounds harsh I apologise.  Please keep the emphasis on ‘surprise’.  Perhaps we all fall victim to the very seductive logic that any change we might make to our routine and consumption habits is so small that it can’t make a difference.  But today I’m feeling inspired.  Inspiration came in the form of laundry liquid.  Now I’m not usually in the habit of letting laundry products shape my thinking.  Nor was I transported to a higher mental plane by the feel of soft fabric on my skin or the inhalation of that fresh,just washed smell.  It was actually the new packaging which was responsible.

Usually I’m pretty sceptical about the whole packaging thing. (I still shudder thinking about the ‘turbo’ claims emblazoned on the box of the last vacuum cleaner I bought.)  But Ecover’s new packaging really got me thinking.

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Whether it’s simply an ‘urban myth’ or simply a popular but unsubstantiated statistic, the fact remains there are numerous claims that over 2500 left handed people are killed each year from using products designed for right handed people.

These same sources claim that it’s fairly common knowledge that left handed people do not live as long as right handed people, mostly due to accidents. Even if you look at a simple tool, like scissors, they have to be used in a less than efficient way in order to make them work. So a task that might be usually considered safe may become extremely unsafe.

Here at Ethical Superstore we’re passionately committed to providing the widest range of ethical products to the widest range of consumers.  So we’re proud to announce that we have worked with all our chocolate producers to compile a ‘safe list’ of chocolate products which not only meet strict ethical criteria such as Fairtrade, Organic and Vegan criteria but are completely ambidextrous.

Click here to view our full range of ambidextrous chocolate bars.

Our friends at Divine Chocolate have come up with a fantastically novel way to encourage people to send an email to politicians to keep fair trade on the agenda at next week’s G20. It’s a simple game – Egg a Politician. You get to throw a chocolate egg at one of  five world leaders — Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh or Wen Jiabao — who are all attending the G20 summit, where finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and the European Union will meet to discuss “key issues related to global economic stability”.

As well as the therapy of hurling the egg at your leader of choice, you then get the opportunity to send an email to that leader – direct from the page – just as soon as they’ve devoured the chocolate.

When I first read about this idea I had visions similar to the incident that saw the

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It was with some sadness that I realised that after having feasted on a variety of incredible slow cooked lunches, today I’d be returning to sandwiches.

The week had been a real voyage of discovery for me. I’ll be forever grateful to Elaine for introducing me to harrissa relish and appreciate both Analisa and Twanna who have opened my eyes to cooking in drinks rather than stock.

However it was probably Analisa’s demonstration that the slow cooker is worthy of kitchen worktop space in the summer as well as the winter, that got me thinking most. I’d mentally pigeon holed the slow cooker as simply a hot comfort food provider on cold, dark winter evenings, but now I know better!

A slow cooker isn’t just for dinner; it can kick start the day too – as a hot comfort food provider on cold, dark winter mornings! With the unwelcome return of icy weather I decided to experiment. I left  the slow cooker on its low setting (the versatile Ecolectric slow cooker has a choice of three heat settings)  over night to see if what I’d heard was true – that - slow cooked porridge is amazing.

Last week we welcomed Rude Health Organic Foods to the shelves of Ethical Superstore. With a ‘Rude’ brand name it may not surprise you to learn that some of their product names sound a little cheeky too,

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Lunchtimes in our office have seemed a little tame recently.  Following the success of the recent Ethical SOUPerstore challenge, when a number of us demonstrated it was possible to beat the credit crunch by sharing a tasty and ethical lunch, we’ve been developing a culinary itch we just had to scratch.  But how?
Enter the Morphy Richards Ecolectric Slow Cooker.

Slow cooking has much to recommend it
•    Convenient – fits a busy lifestyle, put all you ingredients in that morning and come home to a delicious meal in the evening.
•    Flavoursome – Slow cooked food is cooked in its own juices fully absorbing all flavours.
•    Economical – Low levels of energy are used to power a slow cooker.
•    Versatile – Cook everything from curry, soup, chowder, casserole and even desserts.

Environmentally, slow cooking has advantages too - slow cookers use low levels of energy, making them economical to run (rather than heating a large conventional oven). Better still the Morphy Richards claim that this Ecolectric Slow Cooker uses up to 44% less energy than other slow cookers on the market.

So four of us have got together to give it a thorough trial. . .

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We never like to miss the opportunity to bend the ear of a politician – yesterday we had two visit the Ethical Superstore. Wendy Morton, the prospective parliamentary candidate for Tynemouth, was welcoming Bernard Jenkin MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, to our region, and decided that Ethical Superstore would be a great example of a North East business doing well despite the tough conditions. After a tour of the warehouse and offices, a fairtrade cup of tea was enjoyed by all.

Andy Redfern commented  “It’s all too easy to criticize politicians for being out of touch, so we never like to miss the chance to let them know what it’s like at the grass roots.”

Wendy gave us this feedback “As a Conservative I support Fairtrade. Developing Countries need aid but they also need economic development, trade and skills to lift them out of poverty. That’s why I believe Fairtrade is important.

“I was really impressed by the vast range of Fairtrade and ethical products at the Ethical Superstore - they have everything from groceries, to gadgets, to gifts. But what struck me most was the innovation and imagination behind many of the products. For example handbags made from recycled juice packets, and beer glasses made from recycled bottles.

“Visiting a place like this really does provide food for thought.”

Joanna’s recent blog  ‘The Great Packaging Debate’ touched a nerve with me.  Don’t get me wrong I’m all in favour of recycling. Too much so, if you ask my kids, as I’m rather fond of picking up bottles and cans whilst walking our dog and bringing home the spoils to add to our kerb-it box. Perhaps it’s the way that I then record my results on the calendar (21 cans is my personal best) which prompts their accusations that I’m obsessive. But I’m also firmly of the opinion that recycling shouldn’t be viewed as the first option when dealing with our waste.

So here’s my top 5 ideas for cutting down recycling without adding anything to landfill.

1 - Plan ahead.

One of the biggest improvements we’ve made to reducing waste in our home is by taking time

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With pancake day approaching fast I wanted to try my hand at making the most ethical pancake I could.

I’d read that it was possible to make perfectly good pancakes without eggs or even milk! So I thought I’d give it a try.  What follows is a vegan pancake recipe which, it’s fair to say raised a few eyebrows around the office.

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comedian Elvis McGonagall will be there

To celebrate the art of coffee growing, Cafédirect, one of the biggest names in Fairtrade, is staging the first ever TasteFair - nine days of eco-lifestyle events to stimulate the senses during Fairtrade Fortnight at Whole Foods Market, Kensington High Street, London.

TasteFair will run from 21st February - 1st March and will feature an impressive line-up of some of the UK’s best-known ‘eco’ celebrities and experts including Wayne Hemingway and Oliver Heath. There will also be food tastings, music evenings, story time readings, coffee classes and a specially created photographic exhibition tracing the incredible journey of coffee.

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I’ve been avoiding the news of late. I realised I needed to take a serious time out from it last week when I caught myself day dreaming of launching a cheap and nourishing breakfast cereal which I’d call ‘Credit Crunch’.

Last night though, I thought I’d risk a glimpse – perhaps the sacking of Luiz Filipe Scolari by Chelsea (and let’s not forget Portsmouth’s dismissal of Tony Adams too) might provide a little colour in the monochrome news diet.

I have to say I was flabbergasted, not by (or perhaps that should be not only by) Scolari’s reported pay out, but by a report from Northern Ireland.  Predictably it involved two words, each starting with C – but this time they represented a different global threat – Climate Change.

It would seem that Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson has banned government television adverts in Northern Ireland warning of the effects of climate change.

The DUP man said he was not prepared to allow “insidious New Labour propaganda” about the impact of climate change which would have been screened on UTV.

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