Author Archive for sue fuller

Sue writes…

I have used washable nappies with both my daughters and have tried many different types. My favourites though are the one-size nappies such as Mother-ease.  As they last from birth, all the way through until your baby is potty trained.  They are very economical and they are the only washable nappies that I like to use at night as they never seem to leak!

Until now, the Mother-ease nappies have always been quite plain, but I spotted these beautiful rainbow coloured Mother-ease One Size nappies from Little Green Earthlets. They look so cute it seems a shame to cover them up! The nappies cost £7.50 or you can buy a pack of 7 for £47.25, a saving of 10%.

If you’re using washable nappies, why not try washable wipes too? Little Green Earthlets also stock Mother-ease washable wipes (£1.85 each).  The wipes come in either white or natural and look beautifully soft.  As well as being gentle on your baby’s skin, the wipes are very economical, working out much cheaper than disposable wipes in the long run. Used wipes can be stored in your nappy bucket and washed along with your nappies.

Sue writes…

I have lots of female friends and relatives to buy gifts for this Christmas and have been looking for some unusual pieces of jewellery for them. Cebra Online have a fantastic selection, all of which are fair-trade and absolutely gorgeous.

My favourite gift set is this stunning Mandala Necklace and Earrings Set from Brazil. The set costs £15 and consists of a pair of earrings and dangling pendant made from antique gold-plated enamel, with crystal and glass beads.

I was also looking for a more subtle necklace and found this beautiful Fairtrade Porcupine Quill necklace, perfect for my mum. The necklace is made from porcupine quills and hematites. The porcupine ’shoots’ out its quills when under attack from predators, and these quills are collected from the wild and made into this beautiful jewellery by the Kokskraal Handcrafts, a job creation project for Xhosa women. The necklace costs £20 and a matching bracelet and pair of earrings are also available.

 Sue writes…

If you want to have a green, eco Christmas and are wondering about how to decorate your house for the festive season, you’ll love the Christmas ideas on Nigelsecostore.com.

I’m always looking for something unusual for my Christmas tree, and these recycled CD Christmas Tree Decorations are just the thing. Their simple designs will co-ordinate well with any other decorations you may have, and their shiny surfaces will catch the light and make them sparkle – children will love hanging these on the tree. The decorations can be bought separately for £3.99 each or you can buy a set for £10.49

Fairy lights can look magical in the garden and these outdoor solar lights are ideal if you’d like to decorate the trees in your garden. The lights are waterproof and come with an integrated controller so that you can select various options such as continuous, burst, pulse, flashing etc. The lights have a sensor so that they only come on when it’s dark. 50 fairy lights cost £19.99 and 100 fairy lights cost £29.99.

Finally, if you need a new Christmas tree this year, why not consider one of Nigelsecostore’s Grow Your Own Christmas Trees. Real Christmas trees are more eco-friendly than artificial trees as they are carbon neutral, absorbing as much carbon dioxide as they grow as they will emit when burnt or left to decompose. My favourite is the Norway Spruce Christmas Tree. A 60-75cm tree costs £32.99 and comes ready planted in its own pot.

Nigels Eco Store at present are offering 10% off their christmas range, if you order before midnight of the 13th December 2008.

Sue writes…

I have always felt a bit ‘guilty’ about using disposable wipes on my 18 month-old daughter, so I was really pleased to try Beaming Baby Certified Organic Baby Wipes. Beaming Baby have even thought about us busy mums too, and I was lucky enough to be able to try their Organic Facial Cleansing Wipes too.

Why would you want to buy these products?

There are lots of baby wipes and facial cleansing wipes available in the shops, so why choose Beaming Baby products? I have never felt happy about using traditional baby wipes as they often have a variety of nasty ingredients listed and they are rarely bio-degradable. The Beaming Baby Certified Organic Baby Wipes are free from parabens, alcohol and sodium laureth sulphate. They are also flushable, hypoallergenic, 100% biodegradable and and totally chlorine free. Perfect!

Beaming Baby also support several charities. 10% of the profit when buying these wipes go to SANCCOB, a charity which rescues penguins form oil slicks on the African Coast and to ‘Baby Lifeline’, giving hospital equipment to baby care units.

What are the products like to use?

Both products are very convenient to use, so are great for when you are in a hurry, or for when you are out. The Certified Organic Baby Wipes come in a neat little pack with a very secure peel open lid. They are great for keeping in your changing bag so that you can use them to clean your baby when you are out or when you are travelling away from home. The Organic Facial Cleansing Wipes also come in a very small, neat pack, so can easily be packed into a washbag for overnight stays away from home.

Any negatives? None.

Price: Both products are great value for money. The Baby wipes cost £2.93 for 72 wipes and the Facial Wipes cost £2.44 for 25.  Also remember you can buy in bulk from Beaming Baby and if you buy 11 you get the 12th free.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Sue writes…

Love Eco is an online store where you can shop for wonderful products which reduce the impact we make on the world. They make a point of understanding their suppliers, who are typically small scale producers sharing Love Eco’s passion and values.

I particularly like the Love Eco Organic Range, espcially the Pants to Poverty Women’s Underwear (£10 per pair). Not only do these briefs look very comfortable, they are made from organic, fairly traded cotton. There are also boxer shorts available too. They are also £10 a pair.

I also like the look of the Bamboo towels. We have a bamboo baby towel for our daughter and it is beautifully soft and very absorbent. Bamboo is also very environmentally friendly. I have been looking for some bamboo towels for myself and my husband too, and these look perfect. The Bamboo Towel Set costs £55 and consists of 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 face cloths.

As well as organic underwear and towels, Love Eco also has some gorgeous organic Figs and Rouge bath and skin products. Figs and Rouge products use nourishing botanicals from the traditional English garden to help us restore and retain our skin’s natural blossom. The whole range is free from parabens, sulfates and synthetic aromas, and all products are approved by The Vegan Society. My favourites are the Figs and Rouge Camelia and Chamomile Hand Cream (£9.95 for 250ml) and the Figs and Rouge Organic Day Cream (£18.95 for 60ml).

Sue writes…

I love beautiful jewellery and its always nice to find unusual pieces that are made in the UK.  Just Bazaar sell a gorgeous range of silver jewellery produced by La Jewellery in Wales. All the materials used are ethically sourced and production methods are as green as possible.

These beautiful Elegance earrings cost £37 and would look stunning with both casual and evening outfits.

If you prefer more unusual pieces, then you will love this striking Songs from the Wood Ring. Inspired by the Welsh countryside, this ring is made from silver accented with beautiful freshwater pearls. The Songs from the Wood ring costs £64. A co-ordinating neck torque and bracelet are also available.

Sue writes…

More and more people are becoming interested in natural, organic, bath and skin products.  They can be  expensive though, so I was thrilled to discover the organic bath products available at Jacaranda Blue. All their bath products are organic, made with fair trade ingredients and are suitable for vegans. Best of all though, they are all very reasonably priced.

Their Luscious Organic Lip Balms come in two different flavours - peppermint and orange. They are made  with sunflower and olive oils, shea butter, candedilia wax, rosemary extract and either peppermint or sweet orange essential oil. Delicious! The lip balms cost £3 each so would make great stocking fillers, or even a little treat just for yourself! Continued

Sue writes…

Finding good quality, fair-trade products for babies can be difficult, especially when it comes to toys. Fair and Fabulous was set up in 2007 by mother and daughter team Abigail Smith and Joan Vesper. All their products and fairly traded and ethical and they have a great baby section, with toys, clothes and skincare products.

The adorable hand-knitted Doughnut rattles and Cup Cake rattles would make a lovely present for a newborn. The rattles are fairly traded in Bangladesh and are wonderfully tactile – perfect for little fingers to explore. The doughnuts come in a box of 5 costing £17.95 and the cup cakes cost £16.95 for a box of 4.

Young children with lively imaginations (like my daughter!) will love the Kenana Knitted Animal Finger Puppets - £9.50 for 5. Perfect for acting out stories or putting on a puppet show, these finger puppets are hand knitted by a fair-trade women’s operative in Kenya.

As well as their fantastic range of toys, Fair and Fabulous sells fair-trade, organic baby and children’s clothes. The range includes bibs, playsuits and t-shirts, some sporting cheeky ethical slogans. I particularly like ‘Keep the Planet Cool’ playsuit and ‘Give Peas a Chance’ playsuit! Both playsuits cost £12.