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Proper education

I’m away on holiday this week, so sorry if blog postings dry up a little, but here is an inspiring video with a great soundtrack. Thank you Musings from a Stonehead for the link

Ten Fairtrade products you didn't know existed

So that you don’t think I’ve forgotten about Fairtrade Fortnight - from 25th February until 9th March...

RICE
Crazy Jack organic rice, buy from Tesco or Waitrose  And Sainsbury’s own brand Basmati rice and Basmati brown rice is Fairtrade

QUINOA
Look for Granovita quinea, available in Sainbury’s

MANGO CHUTNEY
Geo Organics mango chutney is available from Tesco’s and Sainbury's.

(click below for more)

Ten weird and wonderful things made from recycled materials

By now, we all know the score: filling our green bins is only half the story. Creating a demand for the contents is as important, which is why we should buy recycled products. But what exactly is on offer?
Here are some original ideas to get the ball rolling.

Woven handle bamboo bag
Made of recycled juice packs by a women’s cooperative in the Philippines, I love Doy bags.

Games picnic table
Bit chilly still, but here is a colourful bench that is made from 2000 plastic bottles. 

Drinking glasses
Made from Corona beer bottles, cobalt-blue mineral water bottles and Coca-Cola bottles, snazzy drinking glasses from Ecooutlet.

Recycled chain bottle openers
Made from recycled bicycle chain, find them here –  like the company name, Rebycle, too.

Jimi wallets
A range of wallets, including leather ones, made from recycled designer belts.

Ipod cover
Designed to protect your Ipod from scratches, these colourful covers are made from recycled plastic.

Handmade lampshades
Made from 100 recycled card and sourced in the UK. Find them here.

Table mat
Made from recycled bottle tops and made in Africa, each mat is unique.

The Nokia Remade
The first handset to be made entirely of recycled waste materials, including rubber tyres, as reported on the Mousetrap Technology blog.

Marmot EcoPro sleeping bag
A four season sleeping bag, made out of used plastic bottles and old fabric, soon to be launched by Cotswold Outdoor. In the meantime, they have a rucksack, called Osprey React, made out of 70 per cent recycled materials.

What should I do with this: books

The second in my new weekly slot (the first is here). Please feel free to add your own suggestions and let me know which items you are struggling to dispose in a suitably green fashion.

So here are some ideas about what to do with unwanted books...

The Charity Route
So long as you have a decent number of books that are in good shape, there are likely to be book charities that will collect them from you. Especially if you’re London-based or in the South of England.  Try Amnesty International for its chain of second-hand bookshops (call 020 7033 1688 to arrange collection).

Another charity that will pick up is Education Aid. It sends books and other materials to countries in the developing world, but the books need to be less than ten years old.

Book Swapping
Join a book-swapping forum, such as ReadItSwapIt. You submit the books you want to get rid of, which gives you access to its online library. When you've found something you like you are given the owner's e-mail so that you can offer your own titles. When you're both content with your choices, you post each other the books.

Given them as gifts
A friend recently wrote to me to tell me that she had found the perfect way of slimming her book collection. For her mother’s birthday, she picked out a selection of novels that she thought she would enjoy and tied them up in ribbon and tissue paper. Since Mothers Day is coming up (2nd March), this strikes me as the perfect green gift. Thank you Mari.

Don’t recycle them
The one thing you cannot do with books is to recycle them in the normal way. The glue that binds them messes up the paper recycling process. Stay away from the green bin.
 

Who wants to be a guinea pig?

Recently, a PR got in touch with me to tell me about this eco-friendly shopping bag called the LittleBigBag. I would like someone to test it and report back on how well it works.
It is a funny concept that takes a little time to get used to. You pile your belongings into both front and back sections – it’s important that they balance out – and then you are hands free. It’s new to the British market. It’s inventor lives in Aix-en-France and is currently selling the bags around Europe on a very small-scale. But the company is hoping to expand and sell the bags in supermarkets in the UK.

If you’re interested in being a guinea pig, email me or leave a comment below and I’ll post one out. I only have two bags (obviously you can keep them afterwards). First come, first serve.

What should I do with this: unwanted shoes

Welcome to a new and regular slot on the Eco-Worrier blog. Each week, I will post up ideas of how to deal with unwanted belongings in a green and ethically clean manner.

What I’d like from you is two fold. Firstly, subject ideas. Don’t know what to do with an old shower curtain? Got a load of video tapes lurking that need a new home? Tell me about it. Email me (my email is on the right) or leave me a comment on this blog and I’ll do my best to feature your idea in this slot. The other thing I’d like to hear is your suggestions for what to do with the items being discussed. Let us in on your secret decluttering solutions. I’m hoping the section will become a useful stash of green ideas to help people cope with their clutter.

So, shoes….

Are they fine quality and in good nick? In which case, go to the My Shoes campaign, which raises money for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. It collects designer shoes to sell on eBay (donations need not be Jimmy Choos, but it helps if they are something that people would be prepared to pay for).

Offer them to your friends. You could organize a clothes swap at someone’s house. Everyone should bring a few pieces of unwanted clothing and, erm, you swap. Helps if everyone brings wine and nibbles too. And you can suggest a small amount as an entrance fee to go to charity. If you live in London there's an official swap happenning on 21st February, see here.

Give them to a reputable charity shop. I am less inclined to use textile banks – most of the contents will end up sent abroad to be sold in developing countries (see here) – and I certainly wouldn’t trust those leaflets that float through the front door, for the following reasons.

If you’ve got any running shoes, you can donate them to Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program. It will accept shoes of any brand. Find out where your closest collection point is here.

Find your nearest shoe recycling centre. Do this by clicking here, then type shoes into the search engine and then type in your postcode to find your nearest recycling facilities.

Since spring is coming, boots could be inventively reused as flower pots. Try winter pansies, cyclamen or geraniums, or maybe some rocket (you’ll need a greenhouse or sunny window sill to germinate salad seeds at this time of year). Also, don’t forget to make drainage holes in the bottom of the boots.

How to spend your Green Leap Day

If you haven’t already, it is time to hassle your boss. What you want is the day off on February 29th - to take part in the Green Leap Day initiative.

Launched by the National Trust, the idea is that employees get to roam free; in return, they are supposed to “green” their lifestyles and think about their carbon footprint.

Here are some ideas to help you fulfill your part of the bargain.

Let me know if you have any plans for the Green Leap Day and I’ll print a selection in next week’s Eco Worrier column, in Body&Soul.

Go for a bike ride. To find a cycle route in your local area, click here. But first, give your bike an MOT – blow up the tyres, oil the chain, give it a clean and check the breaks.

Order a couple of energy-saving light bulbs at Light Bulbs Direct

Make a soup. A thick, nourishing soup, such as this slow-roasted root vegetable soup – a Delia recipe that I’ve tried before. Make lots of it, then it will serve as several meals (minimal work; minimal energy) and you can freeze some in a Tupperware for emergency meals.

Do a shop for green household products. By that I mean, recycled loo paper; green cleaning products (I like Method and Ecover); rechargeable batteries and other boring necessities.

Cancel junk mail. Register with the Mail Preference Service here.

Sprout some seeds. A genius way of growing a superfood stuffed full of health-giving enzymes. You need neither a garden nor a windowsill, just a tiny patch of worktop in the kitchen; a jam jar and an old pair of (clean) tights. Soak a handful of dry beans (lentils, chickpeas, alfalfa…) overnight in tepid water in the jam jar and fix a patch of tights material over the jar with an elastic band. In the morning, drain the water and leave the seeds to germinate, rinsing them twice daily to prevent them going mouldy. It should take about three days

Darn some socks. It’s tempting to hurl holey pairs in the bin and buy another packet of five for a tenner from M&S. But it’s strangely satisfying to mend the holes and keep wearing the same pair. The trick is to do it sooner rather than later - when the holes get too big to mend. So sort through your sock drawer; find some threadbare volunteers and settle down in front of a film. To learn the basics of darning, see here.

See if your local BTCV group (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) needs your help. Find your nearest BTCV office, by clicking on this map.

Register as an organ donor. Click here

Make a veg bed plan It’s a bit early to be sowing seeds, unless you have a greenhouse, but it is at this time of year, that it’s worth sitting down and working out what you would like to grow and where you will put it. Think about what you like eating; what is expensive in the shops; how much sunlight your garden gets; what kind of soil you have. Even if you only have a tiny patch or room for a few containers, the earlier you start planning the better. I have found this RHS website and this veg-growing blog to be invaluable

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How to maintain a wormery

A guide to giving your worms an annual MOT

It’s all very well setting the thing up. But, like many green activities, it is maintaining your halo that matters. It’s no good ignoring the little creatures that you have adopted to munch through your organic waste. You have to nurture them. Show them some love. I’ve just given my wormery an MOT and it’s sparkling in the spring sunshine.

Here are my secrets to a healthy relationship with a worm bin - which, by the way, you only need a very small patch of outdoor space to house. I kept mine in a garden-less flat in Kentish Town for two years, on an outdoor step that led to our neighbour's garden. The compost I used as a treat for my houseplants or I gave it to friends with gardens. If you have any questions, please fire away.

1/ Give the outside of the bin a good clean
After a shocking three years of owning mine, I recently noticed how grubby it was getting. A build up of mossy slime on the top and the beginnings of rust on some of the legs. Since it lives outside, in a shady spot in my garden, the bin takes quite a battering. If you want it to last, you need to give it a wipe down and a scrub at least once a year. I use this.

2/ Same goes for your compost collection tub.
Clean it. I use an old ice cream tub that sits on the kitchen worktop, to collect teabags and food scraps. Without a lid, because contrary to what you might think, putting a lid on old food waste only makes the decaying process take place faster (due to the lack of air) so it will end up smelling. On the way back from feeding the worms, I rinse my ice cream tub with a little water from the water butt and throw it on the flower beds. Yes, all very green.

3/ Drain all the liquid from the bottom
In the base of most wormeries, the liquid gold gathers - read about how it works here. This is the stuff that works wonders if you dilute it and douse it on your plants. What also collects here, sorry this is a bit irksome, is dead worms. Little wrigglers that didn’t make it – or passed away peacefully after a happy life wedged between my egg shells. It’s not a pleasant job, but it’s a good idea to drain the wormery right to the bottom during your annual MOT. Then, using Marigolds if you wish, fish out the dead worms and any other gunk that is blocking the tap.               

4/ Keep an eye on the waterproof lid.
Not only because rainwater pools on top, dripping down into the bin and threatening to drown its inhabitants, but also because after a few years, the stretchy covering can lose its elastic, making it even more prone to becoming a little paddling pool. You can buy them separately from Wiggly Wigglers.

5/ Don’t forget the dry stuff.
It’s easy to get carried away piling carrot and potato peel into the bin and forget that one third of the stuff you give a wormery should be dry materials. Ripped up bits of cardboard, bank statements, that kind of thing.

6/ Keep your worms warm during winter
Worms work best in mild conditions. A bit of old carpet or an unwanted jumper will do. But make sure you change it every year or so. Originally my bin came with a moisture mat, but the worms ate it, so I gave them an old cardigan. Now this garment is so utterly decrepid- and I suspect infested with fly eggs – that I recently made the wise decision to throw it out and sacrifice another moth-eaten jumper. Keep the bin out of direct sunlight in the summer. Worms don’t like intense heat; you may even kill them.

7/ Throw in a handful of anti-acid lime treatment.
Do this every few weeks to stop the bin from becoming to acidic, as will avoiding giving the worms lemons, oranges and onions. You can find it here.

8/ Don't mind the flies.
It’s all part of composting. I defy anyone to run a compost bin or a wormery with no fruit flies or other creepy crawlies making it their home. If your bin is smells horrible or the worms are dying, there is a problem. Wiggly Wigglers do a Worm Rescue Kit that might help. So long as it’s all functioning, ignore the flies.

9/ Remember to use the compost.
Don’t worry if there still seem to be plenty of worms in the tray. Once the material is dark brown and vaguely soil-like, it’s ready to use. See it as a form of population control. I dig my homemade compost into the beds twice a year. Once about now, and again at the end of the growing season in September.

10/ Watch them. 
To develop a better relationship with your worms, study their habits. Where are they gathering? What food do they seem to like best? What weather conditions make them gather in the lid? Mine nestle in avocado skins – their favourite food – and try to escape when it rains

Happy worming!

20 green ideas for Valentines day

Yes, there’s too much tat and it’s all horribly commercial, but there’s a lot to be said for bothering with Valentine’s Day. So long as you make something special of it: don’t go down the predictable route, opting for a dozen air-freighted roses. Instead charm the pants off your loved one with something original.

“To do” presents…

1/ Book your lover a day at the UK’s only true eco-spa. Titanic Mill is offering a Winter Blues Spa Day for £99, offer open until 29th Feb.

2/ Or what about a two night eco-retreat in a luxorious Tipi, in Wales? Keep warm with a wood-burning Mexican chimney and you can visit the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology

Living presents…

3/ Save a chunk of rainforest. The World Land Trust, a conservation organisation that buys up the rainforest to protect it, is offering the chance to buy half an acre for £25. Your chosen one will get a certificate and a Valentine’s card, as well as a bar of organic chocolate.

4/ Closer to home, the Carbon Neutral company offers the chance to dedicate two native trees in Lovers’ Wood, part of Warcombe Wood, in Devon, to your partner. In return, you receive a certificate and a map directing you to your trees.

Other ways to watch your love grow…

5/ You don’t have to choose imported roses. Wiggly Wigglers sells local, seasonal bouquets, and all sorts of gardening gifts for those with green fingers, or wannabes.

6/ Or try your local garden centre for a pot of daffodils or crocuses. They are in season and you can plant them out in the garden afterwards.

7/ For something more exotic, treat your Valentine to a Wild Cherry tree. According to tree2mydoor.com, they are native to the UK and will blossom with pink or white flowers. They don’t grow too large, so it’s the ideal gift for someone with a small garden

8/ For more of a kick, spice up your love life with a grow-your-own chilli plant.

Supper-time…

9/ Nothing beats home-cooked food made with local, seasonal ingredients. For a stack of info on what's good right now and other ethical food advice, click here for the Real Food guide. Or here for another seasonal eating website.
I prefer easy, one-pot suppers on Valentine’s night, stews and casseroles that you don’t have to fuss over. If you can get your hands on a Le Creuset heart-shaped pot, even better.

10/ This leaves you lots of time to cuddle up on the sofa with a drink. And what better to choose than a fine organic tipple. Times wine critic Jane McQuitty rated this Gewürtzraminer (2003) as one of her top winter wines.

11/ If you can get your hands on some recycled wine glasses, such as these, your date will be all the more impressed.

12/ Don’t forget to set the mood with organic candles, made from renewable, organic plant wax.

13/ Not everyone feels at home cooking, especially on a first date. If you must go out, at least choose a green restaurant. There’s handful in the capital, such as Acorn House and Konstam. In Bristol, there’s Bordeaux Quay. Brighton, try Due South. Up North, I've heard nothing but good about The Star Inn, near Helmsley.

You can’t go wrong with chocolate…

14/ A cake baked in a heart-shaped baking tray is bound to set your love’s heart a flutter. Buy it from Heals (see above for picture). And try this recipe for Fairtrade chocolate cake (or cheat with this one from M&S).

15/ For dedicated chocoholics, there are a number of goodie bags you could order, including this one from Fairtrade chocolate company Divine, and this one from organic choc company Green and Blacks.

16/ And while were at it, it’s worth mentioning that Faith in Nature does a chocolate shower gel, and we all like showers because they use less water than baths – unless, of course, you share your bath.

Make your own card…

17/ A card is an important gesture, but what about making one from old bits of magazines and wrapping paper. Even cutting out a heart of bright red card does the job, and it's a lot cheaper than a tacky declaration of love from Clintons. This heart-shaped writing paper made from elephant dung is a good starting point for homemade creations, or give it as a gift.

18/ If time’s too short, there are crafty, fair trade cards from here. And here.

To bed…

19/ Perhaps now is the moment to present the Valentine’s package devised by eco-underwear company Green Knickers. It contains Fairtrade chocolate and a pair of pants – or boxers for men.

20/ And if you’ve played your cards right, you might be calling on one of the Fairtrade condoms sold by French Letter, a new company that gives a percentage of its profits back to the Malaysian rubber producers.

Web favourites this week

More on the dolpin in a second.

The blog: My Tiny Plot
If anything is likely to spark enthusiasm for digging, veg growing and rescuing small slimey creatures, it is this charming blog. If your garden is as neglected as mine, it might be time to show it some love.

The company: Green People
Very eco, very natural, you can’t go wrong with anything from here. I’ve been won over by the special Valentine’s organic shave kit - for men who like a proper wet shave.

The earn-a-halo site: Mission Fish
Still have unwanted Christmas presents lurking? Sell them on Mission Fish, Ebay’s charity site and raise money for Friends of the Earth. It’s up to you what percent of the final sale price you give.

The list: Grist’s Green Lists
15 Green Fashion Finds. 15 Green Movies. 15 Green Politicians. It's all here. Grist has gone list crazy.

The video (see above): Cheesiest Save the World Clip
Not that I don’t like fluffy seals and turtles, but really, I've noticed an unacceptable level of cutsiness in eco videos that circle the web. I don’t think they are helping.