Tube strike madness....

Well I like complaining about the tube as much as the next Londoner, I really do. Tube ranting is one of my favourites. But I now have tube strike fatigue to be honest. The guardian even felt the need to blog about it and to share their journalists' journeys via twitter...and oh god, now I am talking about it too. So I will keep this brief...

I have no idea about my official position (and I know people are dying to know) on the strike. I think it's just not possible for a member of the general public (i.e. me) to really know what is going with regards to who is being the most unreasonable....and I don't really care. But I do like this website: http://www.walkit.com/ which I consulted so that I wouldn't have to use the tube to get to work. While forgoing my little tube commute only prevented (or avoided as the website prefers to say) 0.06kg of CO2 emissions, I have realised that the walk is far quicker than I anticipated and about a hundred times more pleasant than my usual Circle Line experience. So strike/don't strike...I don't really mind, just please don't tell me any more about it.

Wishlist....

Adili, one of my favourite ethical online retailers, has a number of dresses that I am coveting at the moment. This is (probably) my favourite. It is by People Tree, which has recently won the Observer Ethical Awards for Fashion.

Ethical fashion options just keep on growing, a great thing for the world in general but a bit of an issue for my wallet......

Interesting, if not cheerful, weekend reading.....

'The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis' has just been released by the Global Humanitarian Forum. This is the first comprehensive study which quantifies the effect of climate change on humanity. According to the report climate change is already responsible for 300 000 deaths per year. Of course the naysayers will have their own opinions and dismiss this as just another lefty-liberal treehugging fuss about nothing (still boggles my mind when I hear/read the 'what climate change?' view but I won't launch into rant mode or we'll be here all day) but for some of us it makes quite chilling reading....

LUSH....

Despite the occasionally over-enthusiastic sales people, I really rate Lush for their general philosophy on organics, recycling and animal testing. Lush products have minimal preservatives and packaging and they tend to use mostly organic ingredients.

I was puzzled as to why they are not listed on www.gocrueltyfree.org/companies.php as a PETA approved 'no animal testing' organisation so I wrote to them to find out why and they actually had a plausible explanation. They sent me a fact sheet on Lush's stance on testing, which explains their Supplier Specific Boycott Policy. It explains the benefits to this policy, which is different from the Fixed Cut-off Date policy employed by the Humane Cosmetics Standard. Lush are not included on PETA's approved list because of this policy difference but they are actually specifically mentioned on the Go Cruelty Free website as a recommended retailer and cites the same explanation for their exclusion from the BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) list.

Lush products use minimal packaging which makes a refreshing change from many cosmetic's companies. Although I find some of their products overwhelming in terms of scent and underwhelming in terms of effect, they also have some great stuff.

My favourites are:

• Ceridwyn's Cauldron bath melt


• The Blonde solid shampoo (which is great for reducing packaging)


• Marilyn hair treatment


• Buffy exfoliating scrub

Lush are a great example of a company that manages to combine numerous ethical considerations at the same time, which is great for a concerned consumer as it takes the guess-work out of purchases. However, just because a shop or company is perceived to be 'good' it certainly doesn't mean they are so it is a good idea to ask questions if something doesn't make sense. It also lets them know that people are genuinely concerned and they can't just get away with vague claims about their ethical credentials.

Flowers...you can eat...yeah!

I know that it is incredibly girly of me but I love the idea of eating flowers. I went to Saf, the vegetarian, organic, generally virtuous restaurant a few weeks ago for lunch (food was great, service was not but that's another story) and had, among other things, the 'greens and flowers' salad which made me even more excited about my nasturtium seedlings growing in the garden. I planted them from seed and they've been completely hassle free. The vivid orange flowers can be used in salads or added to vinaigrettes and they have a distinct spicy/peppery flavour as well as looking beautiful. They don't even need to be in the garden but can be grown in medium to large containers. A pack of seeds cost about a quid so in keeping with the current spirit of thrift and grow-your-own I would recommend adding this to your next list of things-to-do....

Wish list....

I cannot, however hard I may try, justify the purchase of another pair of trainers at the moment. Not even by my vast imagination when it comes to the necessariness (I don't think this is really a word) of another pair of shoes do I need another pair of trainers. But if I did, and could overlook the fairly hefty £73 price tag, then these retro, Veja Volley Trainers would be mine...all mine! Oh, and they're also fairly traded, sustainable and made with organic cotton as an added bonus.

Find them online at http://www.equaclothing.com/ and http://www.endclothing.co.uk/. to name but two....

World Fair Trade Day: Saturday 09 May...

This Saturday is World Fair Trade Day. I am, like many of us I suspect, guilty of being a bit of a fairweather fair trade buyer. I tend to go for the usual fair trade suspects like bananas, coffee, tea and chocolate. These tend to be the easiest and most visible/publicised fair trade products. But there is actually a suprisingly wide range of fair trade stuff out there, and not just from stores like Ethical Superstore, but also from online grocery stores like Waitrose and Sainsbury's, who tend to have a wider range available online than in-store which will hopefully change in future. And it's not just groceries that you should consider but clothes, accessories and household items.

The Fairtrade Foundation are suggesting we get involved with a fair trade breakfast which sounds like a cool idea to me. But even if you can't manage that, try adding a few extra fair trade items to your shopping basket in the next week or so and it might even become a habit....