Why Lakeland loses the green vote

Today Sarah Vine writes about the peculiar pleasures of the new Lakeland catalogue, with its insulated butter dishes and Thermos snack jars.

It is, she says, the promises of order that fascinates the working mum, “the fantasy of perfection.”

I must admit to have been oddly compelled by it myself. The other night, I took it to bed - the magazine, that is. A guilty pleasure that prompted considerable mocking from my boyfriend. I doubt he would have been any more scornful if it was a bundle of porn on my bedside table. Anyway, as I browsed and yawned, there were moments when I convinced myself that here were some genuinely eco-friendly solutions. Tupperware boxes of every imaginable size and easy-seal freezer bags to make leftovers easy.

In the morning, I saw sense. You don’t need to buy special Tupperware boxes; they accumulate on their own. Friends leave them behind and takeaway containers become them, as do yoghurt pots and deli pots and a host of plastic packaging that you get for free from the shops. It’s the same story with freezer bags. The ones you use for fruit and veg in the supermarket do the job just as well. I’d rather use what I already have in my home than bring more stuff into the equation. It's not just cheaper and greener to be inventive, it's more fun. It's satisfying.

Few of Lakeland's plastic wares are genuinely vital to the running of a home. What I've noticed is that it offers solutions to problems we didn’t even realize we had. Take its mini icepacks for example. Remember, says the catalogue: "Packed lunches in an office drawer...can become a health risk." Since when has your cheese and pickle sarnie being warmed to room temperature bothered you? What about the mini salt and pepper mills for picnics. Good idea, until you realize that up until now, you’ve been perfectly happy with a tiny silver foil wrap containing a grind of each. Then there’s the ice crusher for "sunny day smoothies". Convenient, yes, but a good bash up between a rolling pin and a tea-towel containing ice works just as well.

And there’s something else. Make domestic life problem-free and doesn’t it ruin the fun? With hands-free wine glass holders and little coloured clips for each glass, so no one knocks any wine over and everyone knows whose glass is whose, picnics might become a little dull.

Comments

[Sara]

I know what you mean, but have you seen the lolly making set in which each lolly has a little straw so when it's melting you can suck it.
You can't say that's not a genuinly vital item?

[Ben T]

I'm not a Lakeland obsessive either. My wife says she finds the products cheaply made and unattractive. But I suppose the price is also one of the thigns people like

[Ruth_dt]

Lakeland do stock some genuinely useful and green items. For instance, yoghurt making gear so that you don't accumulate all those pots in the first place.

Also jam and preserve-making equipment - including jars. I discovered after putting out an appeal at work that no-one keeps jam jars any more, they all go straight in the recycling bin.

[Sarah T]

Have you seen this website with tips on how to pack an eco-friendly lunch http://www.howtodothings.com/education/how-to-pack-an-eco-friendly-lunch

It has some nice snack ideas.

Keep up the good work, Eco Worrier

[Eco Worrier]

Sara - you've found my weakness. I, too, rather fancy a lolly-making kit complete with strawers for summer.

Ruth_DT - I received the yoghurt maker for my birthday. Great idea, but I must admit, it's quite a faff to make the yoghurt and it has become just another appliance crowding for space on our worktop.
And who says people don't keep jam jars anymore? Why not? I keep all mine. It only takes a second to bung one in the dishwasher or leave it to soak overnight in leftover washing up water. We should encourage people to keep jam jars.

Sarah T - thanks for the website. I like the snack ideas, such as popcorn and dried mango.

[Christine]

You can make yoghurt in a wide-necked vacuum flask. No fancy equipment needed. A tablespoon of live yog, fill up with milk that's been heated to not quite boiling and allowed to cool till lukewarm. Close lid and leave 8 hours or overnight; put in desired container(s), cover and chill.
You can enrich it with dried milk during the heating if desired.

[Ruth_dt]

Eco-Worrier: Maybe I should say that people who don't make jam don't keep jam jars any more. I put out an appeal at work and amongst my friends for any old jars people had about the place (because I needed some to put jam in), and only one person I emailed had any to give. I was stunned. I thought I was going to be overwhelmed, but apparently not.

Saying that, since then, every few months someone comes up to me and says "do you still have a use for old jam jars?" so I guess it wasn't an entirely fruitless exercise.

Christine: good tip about the yoghurt, I will stop ogling the Easiyo now.