Coveting...Green Patriot Posters

Green Patriot Posters is a communications campaign involving the production of posters that encourage sustainable living. The website www.greenpatriotposter.org invites designers and artists to submit posters dealing with sustainability and some of these are now available in a book. Green Patriot Posters, by Dmitri Siegel and Edward Morris, contains 50 detachable posters and has been printed using 100% recycled paper and vegetable inks. It can be purchased via the Design Museum shop.

Cool Summer Stuff I want to do but probably won't get round to...

......but don't let that stop you! Weekend time seems to be at a premium at the moment and the next few are already booked up with weekends away and trips to see family up North but there is some very cool stuff going on in London in the coming weeks and I would suggest those of you with some free time check it out.

1. Visit the Urban Physic Garden, a pop-up community built garden celebrating medicinal plants. The garden is open to the public from 11 June to 15 August and there will be talks, workshops, film screenings and other very interesting-sounding stuff going on.

(Picture credit: Mike Massaro)

2. Attend Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair at Old Spitalfields Market on the 29th of August. This fair is a nationwide one and takes place not only in London but also in 30 other towns and cities. All traders are scrutinised for quality and affordability. I haven't ever attended one of Judy's fairs myself but apparently the careful screening makes it more accessible than some...and more likely to induce you to part with your cash.

(Picture from Vintage Style blog)

3. See a film outside on the Summer Screen at Somerset House. Screenings take place from 4 July to 7 August and films being shown include The Princess Bride, Thelma and Louise and The Big Blue.

The first UK Green Film Festival....

The UK Green Film Festival is being held for the first time this weekend. The festival will showcase films and filmmakers dealing with environmental issues and climate change themes. A few of the films being shown include FernGully, Godzilla and Plastic Planet. It will include the nationwide premiere of the film 'Planeat', a story about a quest to find a sustainable, healthy diet (which doesn't sound quite as thrilling as say, Godzilla, but should be fairly interesting....).

• 2011 Green Film Festival Timetable

Join the Fish Fight....

Luckily for me, I am not a seafood fan....not because of any sustainability arguments (although there are many) but just because I honestly can't stand the taste. As I was so fond of reiterating during my childhood when well-meaning relatives would try and encourage me to eat fish, prawns, lobster, calamari etc...."nothing from the sea please! I don't eat anything that swims or lives underwater". But this isn't really about my fussy eating habits. This is about Greenpeace's current campaign to improve the sustainability of UK tinned tuna, and they are doing incredibly well but they are still appealing for consumers to help them even more and influence, in particular, John West and Morrisons, to raise their games.

Many of us are familiar with the dangers of certain commercial tuna fishing methods and the impact they have on sharks, rays and other marine species. If you want to know more, I suggest you check out the Greenpeace website (www.greenpeace.org.uk/fishfight) and/or check out Hugh's Fish Fight which is being shown again tonight at 10pm on More 4.

A fantastic number of supermarkets and manufacturers have joined the campaign and improved their methods but for some reason John West and Morrisons are lagging behind. The simplest thing you can do of course is not buy John West and not shop at Morrisons but you can also join the campaign by writing to them via the Greenpeace website. With so many supermarkets improving their methods there really is no excuse for others not to do the same, so make sure you voice your disapproval and let them know it's not a minority 'treehugger' concern but something that everyone is aware of and not prepared to accept!

Green Britain Day...

Tomorrow, the 17th of June, is Green Britain Day. Whatever your feelings may be about the fact that edf Energy is the sponsor (I am frankly, a little tired of debates around whether we should support initiatives sponsored by ‘the man’ ie. Big businesses....personally I think that the more we do to support positive steps by business to take sustainability issues into consideration the more likely they are to take notice and make even more of an effort because, let's face it, they aren't just all going to go away or turn into lovely little ethical co-operatives, but maybe that’s just me being optimistic....) there are a number of great ideas for simple activities you can do for sustainability and a great deal of information on the site here: http://www.teamgreenbritain.org/the-big-picture. By registering online you can receive a newsletter which will let you know of events happening in your area.

At a recent event I went to in a work capacity the discussion centred around which group – business, consumers or government, were the drivers of change in terms of embracing sustainability issues. As usual, there was no consensus, and as usual, the conclusion is that everyone needs to work together. An excellent point which was raised and made sense to me though, was the fact that as consumers, we don’t often have access to, in economic terms, perfect information. We can only make our decisions based on what we are told and that is not always the correct information and/or all the information. So we are forced to rely on business and the information they provide. So inevitably, the best impact we can have is to let businesses know our concerns, tell them that it is important for us to know that they are doing their best to ensure that when we purchase goods and services from them we can rely on the fact that they have done the research and they are offering us the most sustainable/ethical product they can. I know this may be a bit idealistic, but I think that rather than us, as consumers, trying to make a decision about whether, for example, loose fruit or packaged fruit, is more sustainable in terms of the joint issues of food waste, transport and packaging, that is something we need to rely on the retailers to have done their research on and then fed back to us. So speak to the businesses you use about what they are doing, as a whole, about sustainability issues....write to them/email them and let them know that you want the information. I know it may seem a waste of time as an individual but just a short email can make a big difference and needn’t be a hassle. Ok, semi-rant over.....happy Green Britain Day for tomorrow.

Enjoying London doesn't have to cost the earth....

I agree so much with the general premise of this article ‘Bargain London’ [guardian website travel blog]. Check out the comments to this as well for a whole lot of ideas on what to do in London when money is tight.

London can be incredibly expensive, as can most major cities, but there is also plenty to do on a budget. I am just too lazy to get out and do these things most of the time but as this article mentions, there are a host of websites and guides that can offer inspiration. On a ‘green’ note (just cause I can ;) Visit London even has a ‘green’ section of their website: www.visitlondon.com/people/green which not only has ideas on where to go and what to eat, but also tips on how to make sure you’re a ‘responsible tourist’ (which doesn’t sound particularly exciting I’ll admit but is more along the lines of throw away your litter and respect your environment rather than prohibiting any wild behaviour!).

Kind of cool....

Chicza, organic rainforest gum, is now available at Waitrose. I haven't actually tried it yet but as a sporadic gum chewer I am definitely intrigued.

Chicza is not only biodegradable (the lifespan of a wad of ordinary chewed gum is anything up to 5 years where as Chicza apparently dissolves in about a month, causing no environmental damage) but it is also the first certified organic chewing gum and is produced by 56 cooperatives with the sustainability of natural resources of extreme importance. Visit http://www.chicza.com/. for more information on how the gum is produced.

Shopping fail...

I recently needed to buy a new crockery set. I just wanted a basic, dinnerware set with some dinner plates, side plates, bowls and possibly mugs or glasses. As is always my first instinct, I thought I'd try and find a, in some way, green and/or ethical product.....fairtrade, recycled, etc....I just think, if I am buying something it may as well not have been involved in any penguin deaths; mistreatment of children/workers; pumping of noxious black cancer-causing fumes into the environment (delete as applicable).

However, my search was less than satisfactory. I'm sorry (not sure to whom but I am sorry) but I am not prepared, or able, at the moment to spend double the amount of money on something because it is recycled. I am also not prepared to use bamboo/ill-shapen clay pots as a dinner service. One of the problems with us humans, myself very much included, is our inherent laziness. If it is easy to make a green and ethical choice, we probably will. But after a fair amount of research, I honestly couldn't find something I was happy with that wasn't going to cost me more than double (sometimes a lot more than double) the price.

Below are a few of the options I could find.....bearing in mind the cost of the set I found at John Lewis which is exactly what I am looking for:

Basic John Lewis stoneware dinner set: £25
(Consists of 4 of each mugs, dinner plates, side plates and bowls)

Ecotopia: No suitable tableware
(although they did have some disposable plate alternatives made out of palm leaf)

Ethical Superstore: No suitable tableware

EcoCentric: £104
Really modern, stylish range of recycled glass plates and bowls. However, to purchase a complete set of 4 of each of the items available in a 'normal' dinner set (included some recycled tumblers in my costing as they didn't have mugs in the range) is well above my price range I'm afraid.

Biome Lifestyle: £152(!)
Biome have a range of Aster recycled glass tableware but even if I did want to spend the £152 I would need to make up a set of 4, I am not overly fond of the lurid colours available.

The Recycled Warehouse: £69
The most promising option I could find. Recycled Warehouse also have a range of Aster recycled glass. It is very different, and a lot cheaper, than the biome range though. The plates, bowls and tumblers available are clear glass and rather pretty. However, the price difference when compared to other, mainstream tableware is still significant at almost triple the cost.

So I am afraid that I have taken the easy, and thrifty! option and gone for the John Lewis set. Which I am disappointed with but to be honest, I didn't really have time to go through any more websites trying to find something better. Which is a pity really and it seems to me that there is an increasing need for green and/or ethically sourced goods that can compare in price (or at the very least not be more than 10/15% more expensive) than mainstream ones.

One soap fits all....

I will confess something and that is...I have not actually used Dr Bronner's organic liquid soaps because, alas, I do not as yet own any. However, in my 'research' (ie blatant internet surfing/time wasting to avoid doing actual work/chores/constructive activities etc.) lately I keep coming across this miraculous sounding soap. According to its many fans it can be used as: facial wash; dishwashing liquid; shampoo; bathroom cleaner; pet wash; baby wash; and the list goes on....and on. It also boasts an impressive array of green and ethical credentials such as:

• Completely biodegradable and vegetable-based
• Made with certified Fair Trade and organic oils
• No synthetic foaming agents, thickeners or preservatives
• 100% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) cylinder bottles and paper labels

So even though I haven't tried them yet, I am already super impressed. Other retailers and manufacturers are often so full of excuses about why they can't produce products with even one of the above criteria and Dr Bronner's manage all of these.

Dr Bronner's website gives a full product list, online store and other info but for UK residents some places to purchase online are: http://www.lovelula.com/; http://www.guardianecostore.co.uk/; and http://www.thehempshop.co.uk/.

Would someone like to buy me......

.....a green (in many senses of the word) Robert SolarDAB Radio? There is something so appealing about its toylike design. Once fully sunlight charged, the batteries last for up to 27 hours. It's available on Amazon at the moment for the bargain price of £66.11. I want one!

I did actually have a point besides just expressing my craving. The reason I wanted to highlight this is because, to me, it is a good example of a 'green' product which is both functional and appealing design-wise. More and more we are seeing products which manage to combine both which is, in my humble opinion, an excellent sign that considering the environmental impacts of a purchase is becomingly increasingly mainstream.