Category Archives: Green news

Events, Green Living, Green news, Sustainability

The Observer Ethical Awards 2015

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I’m back in Cornwall after an amazingly inspiring (and amazing hot and sweaty..) week in London.  It was great to catch up with my London office girls and get a change of scenery to mix up my working week, but the highlight had to be a night spent at the Observer Ethical Awards courtesy of the lovely people at Ecover!

This year marked the 10th year of the awards, which are all about celebrating the people, organisations and campaigners who are leading the way to ensure we have an ethical future. The categories for the awards ranged from Campaigner of the year and Community energy project award, to Ethical product of the decade!! Longstanding supporter of the awards, Ecover, sponsored the young green champions category; presenting the winner with  a £6,000 bursary to continue and build on their great work. Continue reading The Observer Ethical Awards 2015 →

Green news, Green travel

Being Green Whilst Travelling… Iphone addition

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IMG_8584In February, I embarked on a yearlong, working holiday to Australia.  Having been here 4 months now, it has been in a lot of ways harder to live a sustainable life than I thought it would be.

When embarking on my travels I knew that there were going to be a few home comforts I’d miss – my own bed in my own room being top of the list with my cats – the easiness of green living was not one of the things I expected to miss.

Having spent a few months travelling around the states in 2012, this time around I thought I’d have the travelling thing down to fine art, making it much easier to carry on my green ways whilst on the move.  Sadly I slightly over estimated things.  In my mind when I left the UK I would be moving to a warmer climate living by the beach, whilst doing my morning yoga practice on the beach as the sun came up. Surely as it’s warmer you use less energy and it’s easier to wake in the morning?

The reality hasn’t quite lived up to that as it does get cold here – June equals winter – plus, my ability to wake up early and function in the mornings has not miraculously changed by switching hemispheres.  I still love my sleep and dislike waking up in the morning even if it sunny.  Also for the first few months of my time here, I was moving around and staying in different hostels all the time, this is when it becomes particularly tricky to try and live a life that’s green. Continue reading Being Green Whilst Travelling… Iphone addition →

General ramblings, Green food, Green news, Sustainability, Vegan, What to buy

Ben and Jerry’s go Vegan!

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Today is an exciting day. I woke up to learn that Ben and Jerry’s have given in to millions of signed petitions and will be releasing a dairy free range next year. Vegan Ben and Jerry’s on a Friday night sounds like my idea of a lazy night in!

But my excitement isn’t just because I want to stuff my face with buckets of ice-cream (though that is certainly a contributor to my happiness right now…) I am also happy that the company, who pride themselves on caring about such issues as equal marriage, world peace, fairtrade and climate change, are finally putting their money where their mouth is.

Interestingly, Ben and Jerry’s claim they are passionate about climate change issues and have even joined forces with Avaaz to encourage people to sign a petition or action. In their own words they are “…calling on leaders of the developed nations and the United Nations to tackle climate change at the upcoming summit in Paris. Our goal is for international leaders to work towards 100% Clean Energy by 2050.” A heartfelt plea from a company whose very industry of mass exploitation and rearing of dairy cows is at the very core of our climates woes.

The WWF estimates that there are approximately 270 million dairy cows worldwide, all churning out babies they will never raise, simply to meet our growing dairy demands. Dairy cows and their manure produce greenhouse gas emissions which are greatly contributing to climate change. Poor handling of manure, which occurs in a large number of industrialised dairy farms, and their fertilizers degrade local water resources. Unsustainable dairy farming (in which standards are lowers and more land is needed) along with feed production can lead to the loss of ecologically important areas, such as prairies, wetlands, and forests.

vegan ben and jerry

But still, Ben and Jerrys have always maintained their passion for the planet. So their acknowledgement that dairy is not needed to make a successful and profitable business is very exciting indeed. Not just for vegans but literally for the whole planet!

Green news, Recipes

Watercress: The most nutritious kid on the block

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Despite being a fairly health conscious vegan, who loves fresh produce and a variety of veggies, I’ve never been much of a salad fan. Actually, I tell a lie. I love pasta salads, rice salads and Mediterranean mezze salads. But green lettucy style salads aren’t really my idea of good grub.

However, I may have to reconsider my indifference to the green stuff, after recently discovering that salads most popular ingredient, Watercress, is one of the most nutritious things we can munch on. Despite consisting of over 90% water, and looking like a ropier younger brother of the more popular spinach, Watercress is in fact a bit of a vitamin power house.

watercress

It has more than double the vitamin C of Oranges, four times the vitamin A of Apples and Broccoli and contains high levels of vitamin K and flavonoid antioxidants. And when compared to such delicious produce as citrus fruits, Spinach, Broccoli, Tomatoes and Kale, Watercress also comes up in the top three most nutrition dense sources of Iron, magnesium, zinc and Calcium. In fact, some studies have found that those who eat more Watercress in their diet are also less prone to wrinkles!! Maybe this rabbit food has some appeal after all!

But what if, like me, a handful of Watercress on a dish sounds like a waste of plate space? Well, I’ve found these creative, easy and delicious Watercress recipes; which will help you to stock up on all the green goodness without becoming a walking salad!

10 Easy, Delicious Vegan Watercress Recipes

Continue reading Watercress: The most nutritious kid on the block →

Green Beauty, Green health, Green Living, Green news, Reviews, Vegan, War on waste, What to buy, Where to shop

Natural, Vegan, “designer” Perfumes

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Last weekend I was in vegan heaven, when I popped up to the annual Bristol Vegfest; an extravaganza in all things vegan friendly! I tried the yummiest Pad Thai, stocked up on way too much dairy-free chocolate, and met some awesome like minded people.

But the highlight of my day (aside the vegan ales which got me a little tipsy…) was discovering a perfume company, called Eden Perfumes, who make a huge selection of natural, vegan friendly perfume, which perfectly imitate designer favorites.

For years I have been in a perfume rut. I’ve long, and uncharacteristically for a “hippy”, been a Calvin Klein Euphoria wearer and have never quite found anything else I like. But a huge amount of designer perfumes don’t really hold green credentials, and even fewer are vegan friendly. You may find some perfumes are vegan, but as I’ve found, they are rarely the ones I want!rsz_img_3940-2

So, when I ran out of CK a couple of weeks ago, I vowed that I wouldn’t buy another perfume until I found a greener option. Here ensued 2 weeks of experimenting with essential oil spritzers, all which left me smelling more like a walking pharmacy than a sophisticated lady!

The discovery of Eden Perfumes, then, couldn’t come sooner. Their stall at Vegfest displayed a line of big refill units, and smaller bottle to fill with your chosen scent (of which can be sent back to be refilled!) and each were labelled with the “designer” version it was similar to. Everything from Armani, Marc Jacobs and Burburry, to your favorite Chanel can be found in a botanical and natural form!

Eden only use organic & vegan ingredients (jasmine, vanilla, passionfruit, musk, saffron, oud, sandalwood and many more) and contain no nasty synthetics, parabens or phthalates. The best thing is, by saving on fancy packaging and marketing, all the perfumes are just £15!

eden-perfumes

You can order online, but when I next get the chance I’d love to travel to their store in Brighton and stock up in person! Oh, and after 1 week of testing I can confirm its long lasting and smells just like the real thing 🙂

Green ideas, Green Living, Green news, Reviews, Sustainability, What to buy

Book Review: The Sustainable Design Book

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Ok, I’m just going to go ahead and put it out there. I’m a bit of design geek. Well, specifically an architecture and furniture design geek (and yes, I do include my love of Ikea and Grand Designs in this description…); though I also  have respect for anything that is a little quirky, practical, and more importantly, sustainable. 

But don’t assume this geek love equates to intellectual prowess, no Sir! Not to be confused with someone who actually knows something of substance about a particular subject,  a geek is in fact characterized as someone who is (I quote the Oxford dictionary…) “extremely excited or enthusiastic about a subject, typically one of specialist or minority interest” and that’s me with design. I love it with a creepy, stalker-like passion, but am rarely invited to it’s parties. 

It is because of this interest, but lack of knowledge, that I jumped at the chance to take a look at a brand new book on this very subject: The Sustainable Design Book by Rebecca Proctor.

First impressions suggested that this was a dream book for arty, designer types with a profound knowledge of design. For those who would pretentiously ponder techniques, or simply leave around for friends and acquaintances to admire. A coffee table book if you will. But a curious thing happened. As I begun to flick through its beautifully laid out pages, I realised first impressions can be very deceptive indeed…

Continue reading Book Review: The Sustainable Design Book →

Events, General ramblings, Green Living, Green news, Sustainability

Creating human warming for the love of communities

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As Most of you know, in my day job I work at a very inspiring environmental charity –  the Eden Project – on a community campaign called The Big Lunch.  I’m very passionate about the project, which is all about connecting people and creating a sense of community spirit locally.

I try not to harp on about my job too much, but this weekend I’m working on a very exciting collaboration between The Big Lunch and the awesome Climate Coalition on their For The Love of campaign which I think you lazy green beans might be interested in. All weekend on Twitter we want to get people talking about what they love in their communities, and seek to protect from the effects of climate change. All you need to do is share a photo of what you love about where you live, with the hashtag #fortheloveof.

But what do street parties have to do with sustainability? 

The Big Lunch –the UK’s annual get-together for neighbors – encourages people to sit down together on the first Sunday every June to share food and conversation, as a means to promote community spirit. But it’s more than just a street party full of trifles, trestle tables and bunting. People are the key ingredient. Those taking part begin to create friendlier communities in which they share more; from conversation and ideas, to skills and resources.

BIG LUNCH, SPLOTT, CARDIFF, 01/06/2014The UK’s award winning environmental charity and tourist attraction, the Eden project, seeded the idea of The Big Lunch in 2009  with the hope of creating stronger, more sustainable communities. It’s about recognising that, whilst individual responses to environmental issues – such as household recycling and conscious purchasing – are important factors in tackling climate change, the power of collective action cannot be underestimated. When people come together to share ideas, resources and skills, they are in effect becoming more sustainable. The Big Lunch calls it human warming, and last year 4.83 million people got involved to enjoy a taste of it! Continue reading Creating human warming for the love of communities →

Events, Green Home, Green ideas, Green Living, Green news, Nature, Recipes, Sustainability

Green Activity Ideas for Earth Hour

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Tonight I’m really looking forward to my first WWF Earth Hour experience. This year, the global annual event will see hundreds of millions of people switch off their lights, for one hour, to demonstrate their love of our wonderful planet. I love the idea that for just a short amount of time, millions across the globe are partaking in something so simple but symbolic; in a bid to raise awareness for environmental and conservation issues.

So between 8.30 and 9.30pm, I’ll be switching off all my lights, TV and music; and showing my love to the Earth!

But an hour with no electricity can actually be very long and boring if you’re not prepared, so I thought I’d share some of my green ideas for entertaining yourself during Earth Hour: Continue reading Green Activity Ideas for Earth Hour →