The Ethical Blog from Ethicalsuperstore.com

a strangely pleasurable experience?

So what’s in a name? Plenty, if all the time and money spent on market research and advertising is anything to go by. Manufacturers invest heavily in promoting brand loyalty. But what is it exactly ? According to leading experts, brand loyalty implies that consumers bind themselves to a product as a result of a deep-seated commitment. (Bloemer and Kasper 1.).

A deep-seated commitment?  Sounds serious.
Well, yes. For have you not heard it said…“Coffee just isn’t coffee unless it’s …” “No-one makes jaffa cakes like …” “Easter wouldn’t be Easter without …” “I wouldn’t use anything else on my face but …”?

It’s a commitment that is not just about authenticity of taste, but about a product that becomes the norm, a standard against which all others are measured and found wanting.

Let’s take tomato ketchup as an example.

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At a time when green buzz-words such as ‘food miles’, ’shop local’ and ’slow fashion’ are being bandied about by just about everyone with any kind of environmental conscience, doing your shopping online may seem to be the antithesis of all the good work being done, but look a little more closely, and you might just find that the internet is a greener option than the shopping mall.

Shop from home and let us do the hard work!

If you are anything like me, the simple thought of walking down the high street at this time of year will be enough to bring on a severe attack of the nerves. This is where the internet really comes into its own. With thousands of stress free retail outlets just a click away, the days of spending hours trawling round town in the freezing cold hunting for that perfect gift for a special someone is long gone, and it couldn’t have happened sooner. It turns out that my fear of Christmas shopping is good for the environment as well. Bonus!

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The wetter the better?

I recently challenged myself to ‘Go One Better’  - to conduct an examination of my lifestyle and identify simple improvements which I could make, and more importantly stick to, which will make a difference.  I began with a commitment to eliminate at least one regular car journey and replace it by cycling.  Given the title of this post you could be forgiven for thinking that I’m going to attempt a cheerful defence of pedalling in the rain, not so.
With all going well with the cycling it was time to turn my attention to other things.  Once you start to think about ‘going one better ‘the problem is not so much what to tackle, but where to start.  I decided to start by examining my daily routine, working from morning onwards.
To say I’m not a morning person doesn’t even come close.  According to my family I don’t wake up – I defrost.  Putting myself in the microwave isn’t an option (though it’s a tempting proposition for family I suspect) so I tend to thaw out in the shower.  I’d always resented the hammering on the bathroom door and pleas for speed, evidence of their tendency toward exaggeration.  ‘You always take forever’ being conclusive proof of their impatience, as I was never in longer than a couple of minutes.
I’m probably not alone in the belief that showering is guilt free

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Well it’s official – we’re in recession. But what we’ll experience over the next few months will be nothing compared with what people in Zimbabwe will experience. While inflation here has reached a dizzying peak of 5% the current of rate inflation in Zimbabwe is more than 231million per cent! Just about the whole population is now a Zimbabwe dollar millionaire so worthless is the currency.

Amazingly, there are people making a success of being a business in Zimbabwe – even an export business. Dezign Inc prints t-shirts and bags in Zimbabwe using screen print techniques and traditional designs. Fair trade pioneer Traidcraft imports the products for sale in UK market. 15 years ago the business was thriving and supporting a large workforce and a housing project. Times are tough but the resilience of the team is amazing – they are still managing to export products.

So my Christmas challenge for everyone is why not buy a fair trade shopper from Dezign Inc for your aunt, uncle, dad, mum, sister, brother, son or daughter? Celebrity designer endorsed shoppers may save plastic bags in this country, but the Dezign Inc shoppers could genuinely be saving lives in Zimbabwe as well. The United Nations announced on Wednesday that it had cut maize rations to the 4million Zimbabweans who have no source food at present. Worse news is that there will be no rations after Christmas unless the international community steps in to pledge more aid.

You can buy the Market Scene Fair Trade Shopper for or the Nomad Shopping Bag for just £10. We’d like to sell out this week so we can get more ordered and advance payments out to the folks at Dezign Inc. Do what you can.

This is not hypermiling.

Did you know that “Carbon Neutral” was word of the year at Oxford in 2006.

This year, the honour goes to Hypermiling, which has been picked as “word of the year” for 2008 by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Read the rest of Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year for 2008: Hypermiling »

Nvey Eco Selection Box

The party season is almost upon us and we all want to look our best; however as the cold weather draws in, memories of summer holidays and healthy looking sun-kissed skin are but a vague memory. We’ve all heard the clichés and deep down we know that beauty is only skin deep, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking after it - after all, your skin plays a crucially important role in protecting all that’s inside from all that’s on the outside.

According to the Green Beauty Bible, as many as 63% of us have sensitive skin. This is partially due to the chemicals in our environment, an enormous global issue to be addressed internationally. However the other significant contributing factor is the sheer number of chemicals that we consume voluntarily ourselves, rubbing, massaging and dusting them into our pores in the guise of moisturisers, concealers, lipsticks and eyeshadows to name but a few of the culprits.

The cruel irony is that a huge majority of the beauty and skin nourishing products on the market today sold to improve our skin are in fact packed full of chemicals and synthetic ingredients which just aren’t good for us. After much negative press coverage, the majority of more savvy cosmetic companies have realised that paraben-free products are the way forwards, however it shouldn’t stop there.

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Westonbirt Arboretum by Steve 2.0

Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night and half term have all been and gone, and autumn really gets into its stride this month. Now is a great time to get out and about in the countryside and enjoy some of the most inspirational scenery there is.

Here are our top tips on how to get the best from your autumn adventures…

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The night before our fortnightly recycling day in my household is a stressful and often unpopular task, with all the washing, compacting and sorting involved.  The council provides us with one small black box in which to squeeze our recycled rubbish and if this isn’t frustrating enough they won’t take my cardboard or plastic bags which means I have to get in the car and take it to our local recycling centre; I sometimes feel like giving up on this recycling habit.

Read the rest of Recycling made easy with Ben the Bin »

The people involved in this eco-crusade are using the most peaceful and productive guerrilla tactics around to take matters of excess plastic bag waste into their own hands. No longer content to sit back and watch careless rubbish disposal destruction wreak havoc on our environment, the Morsbags team aims to eradicate the modern shoppers’ perceived need for disposable plastic carriers through the power of handmade cotton bags.

Morsbags consists of a network of socially minded people who form into groups known as ‘pods’. They get together as and when they can, and sew together  old and unused pieces of material such as curtains and duvet covers, creating reusable bags which they then distribute guerrilla-style to those who don’t even necessarily know that they are in need.

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The Divine Chocolate company is 10 years old this week. Here at the Ethical Superstore we love the Divine range of products – tasty chocolate treats for every season. Advent calendars, Easter eggs, boxes of chocolates for Mother’s Day and a classic chocolate bar which tastes good on any day. Add in the cold winter nights cheered by a Divine Hot Chocolate or Cocoa and you never need to be many hours away from a quick Divine Chocolate treat.

To celebrate 10 years of selling chocolate, Divine is putting on an exhibition which tells its unique story. You’ll have an opportunity to see a collection of striking images giving an insight into the lives of Kuapa Kokoo farmers who produce the cocoa that forms the basis of all of the Divine products. The exhibition also tells the enterprising story of the journey that took Divine from being “a great idea – that could never happen” to an award-winning example of a more equitable trading relationship with smallholder farmers in Africa. The exhibition starts today (6th November) at the.gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London, SE1 9PH and runs until Sunday 9th November. The gallery opens from 11am to 6pm and it’s free!

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