Browsing: Living The Green

Read the rest of Make Your Own Christmas Decoration! »

Is anything ever worth the wait?

We live in a society of individuals who do not like to wait. You only have to look at advertising to know that. We want it and we want it now. We want to buy now and pay later. We don’t want to wait until Christmas to have it .We might as well start using it now if we’ve got it. Let’s face it. Delayed gratification is a lost art.

There is a theory that delaying gratification increases the intensity of pleasure on receiving it. Having just started work in customer service, I like to assure people that it will be worth the wait. And I believe it. Take Luxury Gift Wrap for example. I usually buy bargain wrapping paper to wrap the enormous boxes that little children love to rip open at Christmas. But as the children get bigger, the parcels get smaller and this year, I was seduced by the Luxury Gift Wrap. Along with a significant proportion of the nation, so it seems. I couldn’t wait to see it and touch it, but now I know it’s in great demand, I want it even more. This must-have Christmas item for ethical shoppers has people all over the country waiting in eager anticipation. Wrapping Christmas presents has never felt so desirable.

That’s why internet shopping is like

Read the rest of Why I’m Going To Shop Online This Christmas »

When it comes to being fed, my children are fairly easily pleased. Well, obviously not all of them all of the time, but they are used to a ‘one meal fits all’ approach and have learnt to live with it. I am a functional cook, not terribly adventurous, but can be relied upon to get a hearty nutritious meal on the table most days. I shop on the basis that I will be feeding 7-8 people at each mealtime, so rarely even contemplate ready meals - heating individual meals for so many is inconvenient and the cost is prohibitive. Anyway, I’m a bit of a control freak and like to know exactly what goes into the meals I provide.

This may seem like a full-time job but to be honest, most meals on our table follow a set formula:- some kind of meat (chopped up small for the child who can’t chew meat) and whatever vegetables are to hand magically transformed into a recognisable dish by a jar of organic cooking sauce - and generally served with fair trade pasta, rice or organic noodles. Chilli, spaghetti Bolognese, stir fry, sausage pasta, sweet and sour, curry…the variations are numerous. Moreover, the advantages of such a system are endless:-

• You only use half as much meat as you would with individual portions (financially and environmentally sound)
• You can have a cupboard full of sauces and pasta, rice and noodles so that there will always be a meal to hand
• There is a great variety of organic sauces out there - check out Meridian or Seeds of Change for some ideas
• If all else fails for the vegetarian in the house (ie. If I don‘t get round to cooking him anything), he can open a tin of Free & Easy chilli or curry without going hungry
• You are in complete control of what goes in
• The jars are easily recyclable unlike the packaging of the equivalent in ready meals
• This type of meal can stretch if someone extra turns up unexpectedly or can be kept and reheated for anyone who arrives home late (and eaten up for breakfast the next day by my child who prefers leftovers for breakfast to cereal or toast)
• The fair trade and organic content of meals is considerably higher than with any other alternative
• A meal can be rustled up in ten minutes after having picked one child up from tennis and before another has to be at dancing
• There’s something very satisfying about setting two big pots of steaming food on the table and ladling it out (rather like Mummy Bear)

So there we go. Ten reasons for stocking up on cooking sauces. Call it cheating if you want. Sauces could be made from first principle, I know that. I’m no superwoman. I make compromises. Anyway, it works for us. We survive. Not much gets thrown away. My sanity is intact. No-one complains (to my face, anyway) that the food I cook is boring. At least I cook. Not that ideas for easy healthy meals with ethical ingredients for a large family would not be welcomed. Of course they would. I look forward to hearing from you and trying some new recipes out on my tribe.

Ever thought you really can’t be bothered but after the event found yourself saying “That felt good. I should do that more often”?

I don’t know what you’re thinking of; I’m talking about exercise. Thinking about it is the easy part. We love the idea of exercise. Buying the appropriate apparel, the new trainers, the fancy equipment….so much more exciting than actually breaking out into a sweat. The good news is that for us ethical consumers, we can make some of these purchases with a clear conscience - yoga mats made from natural rubber or organic cotton; fair trade volleyballs; recycled fleeces; fair trade leggings; ecological bike cleaner or recycled backpacks. That’s a good start.

We all know that it’s good for us. The NHS leaflet I was reading about Depression the other day (as you do) lists exercise as one of the great self help remedies. It makes you feel better - the scientists tell you so; you know it for yourself. My children’s Primary School have Morning Exercise (a la Chinese) for all children every day - it’s said to stimulate the mind and be a great start to the day. It’s actually my daughter’s favourite part of the day. The Government Change4Life campaign states that active kids are happy kids - actually, that’s pretty true in my experience too. Whether I like it or not, my younger children are like dogs and are all the better for a runaround in the fresh air every day.

But being human, we either find every excuse not to get fit or go mad and get completely obsessed. Exercise to excess leads to sports injuries, over-competitiveness; health issues; an unhealthy obsession that consumes all our time and money. As usual, moderation is called for. To be honest, I’ve yet to reach the level where moderation is an issue. As for many of you, I suspect, the aspiration far outweighs the reality. Our local tennis club doesn’t miss a trick. It knows how to tap into aspiration. It holds open weekends during Wimbledon, for all those who sit in front of the TV, itching to get a racket in their hands. An opportunity to transform that inclination into action, sign on the dotted line for a year’s membership and then spend the next 364 days making up excuses not to get on court again. (or for those less cynical amongst us, to rediscover a long lost love for the game and a newfound fitness).

I can’t help wondering (as I do on a weekly basis) if we have not all gone a tiny bit mad. We purchase every labour saving device known to man and then join a gym to work out. We distance ourselves from manual work and then realise that our bodies actually need it. When I was in Malawi last year, my friend remarked to a woman on a foot treadle pump in the blazing sun that people in the UK pay good money to go to the gym for exactly the same kind of workout (as I said, mad).

So here are my five top tips for regaining (assuming you ever had one) a level of fitness this summer:
1. Discover the joys of gardening. Our garden is so overgrown through years of neglect that I certainly have my work cut out. I hear allotments are the new cool - get digging, weeding, pruning. You couldn’t work more muscles if you tried.
2. See housework as a form of exercise. Instead of investing in miracle products that do the work so you don’t have to, rediscover the satisfying combination of more natural household products with a fair dose of elbow grease - a great result all round.
3. Leave the car at home. Take the time to walk or cycle. It may take a real effort to hang up the car keys, but you will feel better when you get there. One of the greatest ironies in my life, which my husband is quick to point out, is driving to the gym; one day, I will silence him.
4. Play with the kids. I don’t know if all kids are the same, but I can’t send mine out to play - they want me to go out with them. How can the kids be inspired to be active if I sit and watch from a garden chair? Why would they think being active is fun if no-one is modelling it for them? This is a real trial for me. I didn’t enjoy outdoor games as a child - why on earth would I enjoy them now? But I do enjoy seeing my children learning how to hit a ball, skip or play hopscotch. So I play for ten minutes and then sit watching for ten minutes - a happy compromise for all.
5. Arrange a summer of activities. Call me mad, but I have come up with a summer of fun - a sheet of pre-arranged activities with a meeting place and time - and given it out to all my friends. A bike ride, a walk to the pub, an all-age rounders match, Sports Day…we’ll see who turns up and have fun with whoever does - the more, the merrier. At least it will get us out and about.

This is all common sense. As I said at the beginning, we all know the theory; it’s turning it into practice that’s the problem. These are my modest aspirations. Let me know some of yours. I have five children off school for seven weeks coming up. Seven weeks of not being able to get to the gym and needing to find my exercise in other ways - so the more ideas I receive from you, the better.

The original FreeLoader is one of the most popular products here at EthicalSuperstore, and judging by the amount of customer queries we receive about it, you’re all keen to harness the power of the sun for your charging needs. However, with ever changing charging platforms and fancy new gadgets launching every week, it’s hard to keep up with the FreeLoader’s compatibility with your devices (and as I’m a Product Information Assistant it was starting to get to me!).

Well, the answer to all of your questions (and mine!) is here. The FreeLoader Pro is the ultimate, professional solar charger capable of charging your most power hungry, energy sapping gadgets and devices.

With a Multi Voltage switch allowing you to charge anything from your mobile phone and mp3 player right through to a digital SLR and video camera, it’s this years must-have green gadget for any tech-geek, eco-warrior, or light-stepping adventurer.

So, let’s just clarify;

Q: Will the FreeLoader Pro charge my iPhone 3G?

A: Yes!

Q: Can I charge my digital camera battery with the FreeLoader Pro?

A: Yes!

Q: Does the FreeLoader Pro have a battery level indicator?

A: Yes!

Ahhh, result.

Let’s just hope all of the products we stock don’t follow in the FreeLoader’s footsteps; ticking all of the boxes and answering all of your questions right out of the box, otherwise I might find myself out of a job!

What to offer my children to drink has always been a source of anxiety for me. And I’m not even talking alcohol here; that’s a subject for another day.

I remember when my first son was tiny. I was determined to do everything right and be the best mum in the world. I used to give him fennel juice to drink because that was what the Health Visitor told me to do. My baby boy would spit it out and scream the house down. He so often screamed the house down over so many different things that I soon gave up on being the best mum in the world. (I can still remember my reply when the Doctor asked if I was depressed - “Anyone would be depressed if they lived with this baby!”). I switched to heavily diluted sugar free squash and haven’t looked back since.

Actually, that’s not true. When my youngest daughter had her first trip to the dentist, I was told she must be drinking too much juice and that was why her teeth were eroding into sharp points (and I thought she was just related to a terrier). We tried hard to break her addiction for a while. She made herself ill by not drinking enough when water was all that was on offer. We relented a little and hoped for the best for her adult teeth.

Anyway, the reason for all these confessions of a rubbish mum is to show the dilemma that I have lived with for many long years. Just what is it OK to offer your kids to drink? How hard is it to just offer water when there are so many more tasty and colourful options out there to choose from? I have had friends who have thought they were doing the right thing by only giving their children pure fruit juice only for their kids’ teeth to be rotted away by the high acid content. Some people believe diet drinks are full of too many chemicals; others believe that the chemicals are preferable to the high sugar load of normal fizzy drinks. Some avoid caffeine; others avoid aspartame. What a minefield!

As for water, the options there are endless too. Is tap water really filled with unwanted unknown chemicals? Is bottled water an extravagance both financially and environmentally? Is flavoured water any good for you at all? What about fizzy water? What about filtered?

We have recently acquired a terracotta water cooler and filter. The water is filtered and purified through a ceramic filter. The terracotta container keeps the water 10 to 15 degrees lower than the external temperature. There is no plumbing or electrical supply required. The only problem is that the water has an acquired taste, which most of the family have yet to acquire. The little tap is a novelty that entices the younger members of the family to help themselves, fortunately with as yet no disastrous consequences (one day, the tap will be left on, I’m sure of it). On top of that, it looks cool and draws the attention of visitors to the house - great publicity for a great product. So water is being introduced as the new wonder drink to my very sceptical family. (it looks like nothing, tastes like nothing - how can the effect be anything other than nothing?)

Other drinks are good on occasions. Ubuntu cola uses fair trade sugar from Malawi, a country with a special place in our hearts. Fruit Passion goes down well (too well). Other organic squashes and fruit juices have been tried with varying responses.

Maybe I should just be brutal (cruel to be kind) and offer nothing but water for a few weeks, until the habit has been broken. Unfortunately, I am just seen as the mum who wants to spoil everyone’s fun. Cool water only becomes cool when the teacher keeps suggesting it to the class. Fizzy drinks are only seen for what they are when the dentist armed with drill tells my son that they are causing the holes in his teeth. Water only becomes the drink of choice when my husband and I become good role models.

Please share your suggestions with me as to how to encourage healthy drinking in my family. My children might listen to you.

In all my comments over previous weeks about the potentially harmful household products that we pour down our drains, I have studiously avoided discussing the similar effects of hygiene and beauty products. Why is that? Is it because the bubbles, fragrance and silky texture enhance my bathing pleasure? Is it because my children exercise more control over my choices in this area? Or is it because we get through so much shower gel and shampoo that the price becomes all-important?

Certainly, my supermarket’s shelves bear witness to the fact that people can be more easily persuaded to buy environmentally friendly washing liquid than shampoo. As far as I can see, there are no organic beauty products on offer. And yet it stands to reason that harmful ingredients in household products are also present in beauty products - what disappears down the plughole in the bath has the same harmful effects on the natural world as what disappears out of the sink in the kitchen. Time to try organic, naturally fragranced shower gels and shampoos without harmful chemical additives, I feel (especially as my body is entering a heightened allergy phase for some reason).

But how about the make-up and all the creams and potions that promise so much? For some people, to be separated from their face cream would be a matter of life and death. I remember a friend telling me

Read the rest of Ethical Beauty… Secret or Dilemma? »

My husband is not a typical man. Although, like many of us, he is inexplicably drawn to watch Top Gear on a regular basis, his choice of car has never had anything to do with status, speed, fashion statement or comfort (or to do with the consequences of my lack of spatial awareness, as far as I know). In fact, our recent car history has been pretty bizarre by normal people’s standards.

Let’s start with our most ’normal’ choice. Family needs family car; let’s buy a

Read the rest of Our Green Motoring Dilema »

There are many reasons why you choose your first bank. For some it was their parents who opened their account for them. For others it was the bank offering the best student bribe benefit. While for others it was just the convenience of which bank was located in their High Street. For me choosing a bank was a no-brainer. I come from a  “Co-op” family (pronounced “kworp” in the part of Manchester I am from). My great uncle was the Chief Executive of the Cooperative Wholesale Society - the Tescos of the 1950s when he was in charge. My grandpa was the chief actuary at the Co-operative Insurance Society in the 1970s. My brother-in-law still works for the Coop Bank today.

My mum was so brand loyal to The Coop that we even had to go to the Coop dentist which was appropriately on the corner of Redfern St in the centre of Manchester. Never did find out whether she got dividend on our treatment or not. In the early part of the 20th Century the Coop really could look after every aspect of your life. From baby food sold in the Coop supermarkets through to the funeral service which the Coop still dominates today. So in this context I opened a Coop bank account in 1986. I have laterally switched to their “fun” online brand Smile because I never need to go to a branch. But I have stayed loyal to the bank. And that loyalty isn’t much to do with heritage. It is down to the fact that they have taken ethics to their very core.

In 1989 they announced their ethical policy and overnight placed themselves in a different league to the other high street banks. The Coop Bank has conducted several stakeholder reports or social audits that look at the views of all of the Bank’s stakeholders. The report is independently audited and you can see clear action plans for how they are going to do more on each of the areas of concern. Even the CIS skyscraper in the centre of Manchester (where my Grandpa proudly had an office on the 19th floor) now has a giant solar panel down the whole of its south facing lift shaft. When you enter the reception you can see a giant display of how much energy is being generated.

And yet can I really say I love a bank after all the banking turmoil of the last 2 years? Well you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Coop Bank didn’t dash for the cash in the sub-prime market. In fact in March 2009 it actually posted a tidy profit for last year – rather in stark contrast to all the “state owned” banks who have fallen from grace.

I have no intention of moving my bank accounts and have already convinced 2 of my kids to bank with Coop. Perhaps it has always been in my DNA to bank with the Coop but they keep giving new ethical reasons to stay.

Are real nappies greener?

Ethical Superstore unravels the government report on reusables vs. disposables for Real Nappy Week – which are the greenest?

The first government report suggesting “no significant difference” in environmental impact between reusable or disposable nappies, was speedily sent back to the drawing board a couple of years back for major revisions after campaign groups slandered it as being “seriously flawed”.

Then, finally, last October, came the revised report nappy-users had been waiting for. Yet, if you read the media reports surrounding the findings, no one would blame you for being left somewhat perplexed as to which was the ethical option.

Depending on which media coverage you read, parents portrayed as too-posh-to-Pamper were reviving trendy reusables, yes, but through using them, were oozing tonnes more CO2 into the atmosphere than those parents popping disposables on their nippers. Those in the green corner, however, were heralding reusables as being 40 per cent better for the environment – all based on the same government report findings.

So where is the truth? As usual, it lies somewhere in the middle.

Crucially, the updated report had taken into account a broader range of user behaviours for reusable nappies than first time around in order to give a more accurate representation, which is of course, good news.

But unfortunately, the user behaviours in the study tended to lean towards the extremes. Real nappy users are polarised as either modern mamas addicted to heat and tumble drying, or hippies happily hanging out nappies to dry outside - whatever the weather. The former having a higher CO2 footprint than a disposable user over the two and a half year nappy-wearing period, the latter a much lower one.

It might come as no surprise then to know that using high temperatures of 90 degrees to wash, and always tumble drying has the highest carbon emission according to the report due to, wait for it, “increased electricity consumption” - ahem. In carbon terms, it’s 80 per cent more expensive than using disposables.

I wonder how many real nappy users can relate to this high-energy approach?

Opting to line dry, however, and have more ‘efficient washing loads’ (in report terminology, this means owning more nappies and washing every three days rather than two) reduces the carbon emissions by 38 per cent compared to disposables. Choosing to pass on your nappies reduces the impact further still.

So, it’s key to note their so-called ‘high energy efficiency’ category - which means you simply wash at 60 degrees, have average tumble drying use, and use an A+ rated washing appliance - will be greener than the average disposable user. And perhaps, most significantly, even the average real nappy user (who according to the report washes at 60, averagely tumble dries but does not possess an A+ appliance) only has to pass on their nappies once in order to have less of an environmental impact than the average disposable user.

So, if you are at least as energy-efficient as the reports’ ‘high energy efficiency’ user or choose to pass them on, then real nappies are the greenest way to go.

One major fault with the report is it doesn’t bring into play the fact that nappies could be mixed with other laundry loads which saves on energy considerably. What parent doesn’t shove in a few extra items in a load to economise? This would bring down CO2 further. The report is also based on using ‘shaped’ reusable nappies only, and these are notoriously tougher to dry than say, pre-fold nappies confounding matters further.

And, as far as disposables go, the report reduced their manufacturing impact by 13 per cent from the previous study - based on information provided by the disposable nappy industry - as nappies have become “less weighty”. However, the fact that increased usage might follow due to lower quality was not taken into consideration and nappy numbers were based on the previous studies’ figures. The CO2 emission could in fact be more than the stated 550 kg per user.

As before, the report is someway towards helping us decide the greenest option, but read between the lines and I hazard a guess that simple green, not to mention economic, reasoning would guide you to the greenest way to care for your reusables and hence sway you to opt for the real nappy deal and go real.

Find out how real nappies are the cheaper option to disposables by up to £600.

Any questions on using real nappies? How do you wash and dry your reusables nappies - any tips to save energy? Comment below.