Home

Erica writes …

I’ve been looking at ways to become a bit greener for the new year and hopefully save myself some money too.

For me energy saving lightbulbs have been a no brainer way of being green - who doesn’t want to save money on electricity and have to change bulbs less often?  But, as I have a couple of rooms with dimmer switches, I haven’t been able to change over all my lights, so I was very interested to see these dimmable light bulbs.  They will dim from 100% to 2% brightness and have a life of 16,0000 hours.  Whilst they are quite expensive, they should save you £100 in energy over their life.  Available from Nigel’s Eco Store for £13.69.

I’ve also been using eco balls for my washing for some years. These are very simple to use - you just throw them in on top of your wash.  They can save you a fortune in detergent and are great for the environment.  Our first set lasted nearly 2 years (but we were childless then) and our second set doesn’t look as if it will last quite as long (strangely I seem to be washing more often now I have a child).  The balls can also save you money on your energy bills if your washing machine allows you to use a reduced lenght of rinse cycle.  To help them clean the balls contain mineral salts that produce ionised oxygen.  At the moment they are available from Nigel’s Eco Store for £29.99 (or £27.99 if you buy more than 1 set) rather than the usual £34.99.

Avoiding using new carrier bags when I’m shopping is one way I’ve tried to be green especially over the last year or so.  I have quite a few reusable shopping bags, but never seem to have enough for my monthly shop and they can be bulky to carry around.  That’s why I like these eco friendly shopping bags which are durable, lightweight and waterproof plus they look great and there are lots of designs to choose from.  They roll up small so you can pop one into your handbag, one into the glove compartment and you could keep on in your child’s buggy too.  Available from Nigel’s Eco Store for £5.99.

Brenda writes…

Environment Secretary says ‘Grow Your Own to Save Money & the Planet’ and now Penney Poyzer shows you how on ooffoo.com
 
During the week where Environment Secretary Hilary Benn publicly encouraged people to grow their own fruit and vegetables in order to cut waste and save money, multiple award-winning eco retailer Natural Collection’s new online eco community site ooffoo.com published a live call-in (including a PDF summary sheet) with Penney Poyzer, celebrated green queen looking at how to kick-start growing your own vegetables in the New Year to save money and reduce waste. Continued

Brenda writes…

Here are a selection of xmas goodies for you to choose from, from Green Rewards.

FSC Fairtrade Cheeseboard

Made from a selection of FSC certified stunning Brazilian woods, this would make a stunning board to display your organic cheese selection over the festive period. Size is 22 x 22cm. Price £24.

Pure EVOKE 1s DAB radio

This a one of the 3rd generation Pure DAB radios. It uses less power consumption in operation and standby than others, it is made using recycled and sustainable sources, comes with the minimum packaging, has preset stations, and an auxillary input for an iPod. Price £97.50.

Pants to Poverty ‘Santa Pants’ Boxer

Pants to Poverty want to rid the world of “bad pants”. There pants are made from organic and fairtrade cotton. These are perfect for the man in your life to wear on Christmas Day as a bit of fun. Available in small, medium or large. Now with 20% off, was £9.75 now £7.80.

 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.

Brenda writes…

Here are my top 6 “Green” discount codes for you and your family/friends to share this December.

Olli & Lime - 25% off, code BG01, ends on the 26/12/08

Ethical Superstore - 10% off on spends over £25, code TGF10, ends on the 31/12/08

Dam Tam - 10% off, code BAMBINO, no end date

Biome Lifestyle - 10% off, code ILOVEXMAS08, ends on the 19/12/08

Bibaloo - 10% off, code Bambino, ends on the 20/12/08

Noolibird - 10% off, code 1234, ends on the 31/01/09

Brenda writes…

Here are a few of the best sales around at the moment.  If you know of anymore, please get in touch with us via the contact page.

Sones - Have on sale their Tunic Tops and Frill Bootlegs, just perfect for this time of year.  Both are available in sizes 18-24 months to 4-5 years.  The tunic tops are available in berry pink and denim blue and the frill bootlegs are available in purple/mink.  Both reduced to £8.50.

Arabella Miller - Have on sale their funky ladybird baby t-shirts. Available in sizes 6 - 24 months.  Now reduced to £9.99.

Natural Nursery - Have a great sale on babies and childrens organic clothes.  Available for both boys and girls and available in sizes from newborn to 4 years.

Buy Organics - Have a brilliant special offers page, which includes sweat shirts from the Tatty Bumpkin range and organic herbs to name a couple, all at reduced prices.

Ethical Superstore - This is your one stop eco-friendly superstore.  It has a special offers page, which includes products from the following departments: groceries, fashion, electrical appliances, beauty and many more, all at reduced prices.

Erica writes…

I have a bit of a thing about boxes: It’s always a temptation to buy nice boxes and it’s easy to justify a purchase as they’re so practical too.

This mango wood box as a lovely cut-out heart feature on the top and comes in either burnt white or pale green. You could use them anywhere around the home, but I think I would either use in the bedroom or the bathroom. I really like using boxes in these rooms as they hide away clutter and makes a room seem more calming. The colour options also seem to lend themselves to these rooms. As they are made from sustainably produced wood and are fairtrade too, you can buy with a clear conscience. Available from Biome Lifestyle for £10.

These CD boxes are also a favourite. They are available in cherry, black, brown and turquoise so should suit most rooms. They hold 10 CDs so they are probably not a choice for your main CD collection, but would be useful if you keep CDs around the house - I have a selection that I play regularly in the kitchen for instance, and another small collection in the bedroom. They’d also be good for travelling. Again they are produced in a fairtrade manner and are made from waste materials from the clothing industry. Available from Biome Lifestyle for £11.50.

Brenda writes…

Wednesday saw the launch party of a new eco boutique called “Our Eco Shop“. The shop brings together 40 ethical and environmentally friendly businessess, under a temporary roof letting them offer you “GREEN” alternatives for xmas.

Open until the 24th December 2008. Monday to Saturday 10-5.30 pm and on Sundays 12-5 pm. The shop is situated at 303 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London, W11. The nearest underground station is Notting Hill Gate.

Businesses showcased there include: 50 cycles, bobelle, revampit, organic-furnishings, elizabeth cook design, bags of change, abaca organic and one eco home.

Also don’t forget about the exclusive prize draw open to The Green Familia readers from Mimimyne.

Tabitha would like to offer TGF readers a chance to enter into an exclusive prize draw. All you have to do is send an email with your name, address, any your favourite product with the value of £30 and under to prizedraw (at)mimimyne.com. The winner will be picked out at random on the 1st December and will receive their gift before Xmas day. If you do not want your details added to Mimimyne’s email newsletter, then please add “No Newsletter” on the email.

For more information, check out the website for Our Eco Shop.

Erica writes …

I was delighted to be sent Ecover’s new Ocean Waves toilet cleaner to try as I am a big fan of Ecover products and use a lot of them around the house. They make me feel better about my impact on the environment and are easy to find in the shops. For me they are a really easy green option to take.

Ecover have launched their new Ocean Waves toilet cleaner as part of raising awareness of World Toilet Day on November 19th. You can read more about this on the Ecover website, but in a nutshell 40% of the world’s population don’t have access to a toilet and clearly clean water and good sanitation are key aspects of maintaining good health.

Why would you want to buy this product?

Ecover work to strict ecological guidelines and use plant and mineral based ingredients which biodegrade easily. This minimises the impact on aquatic life. It means you can use keep both your toilet and your conscience clean at the same time.

Continued

Brenda writes…

We are going to try and highlight the best Green, Organic, Fair-Trade, Eco-friendly, and Handmade gifts around for you and your family to enjoy this year.

Baby Bodysuit Gift Set

This gorgeous superfine merino wool longsleeved body in Ivory and a merino woollen knotted hat in a choice of; petal, sage, sky or sand colours.  Are wrapped up in tissue paper and includes a gift card for your message.  Available from Bambino Merino for £19.95 including free delivery.  RRP is £27.90.

One Less Plastic Bag

This make a great gift for the ladies in the family.  Handmade from recycled saris, the ingenious design means it folds away into its own pocket.  Designed and tested to hold up to 2kg in weight.  Each colour and design will be slightly different.  Size 36 x 38cm.  Available from Boutiko for £10. Continued