Interiors

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.

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.

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…

I love soft towels, and I love these 100% certified organic cotton towels.  One of my friends bought some recently, and I was duly impressed that she had opted for the organic option.

Coming in a choice of ecru or mocha, you have the four sizes available: face cloth, hand towel, bath towel and bath sheet.

Available from The Organic Towel Company, with prices reduced to £1.49 rising to £12.49.

Brenda writes…

Coming from the ever trendy Little Baby Company is this fab coat hook, which any little man would love to hang his coat and essentials from.

Albert Jr Coat Hook

Designed by Swedish designers, Our Childrens Gorilla is this very modern take on a vintage looking robot design.  The arms bend easily, to adjust as required for hanging stuff on them and it’s made from recycled metal.  Available from Little Baby Company for £12.

Brenda writes…

I am looking for a housewarming gift as a good friend is moving house shortly, and I think I may have found what I have been looking for.  This gorgeous Rubin Recycled Glass Vase is just divine…I want one for myself!

If you are looking to buy just one statement piece of design, then check out this vase.  It is unique in style and it’s eye-catching pattern is unusual. 

To achieve the Batiked effect, the dye is applied to the shape whilst the glass is hot.

Available from Greener by Nature for £54.95.

Brenda writes…

If you’re looking for some eco friendly kiddies furniture, check out the offering at Beaming Baby.

The Eco Benz Bench is a combination of a bench and storage box which is made from mostly recycled corrugated cardboard.  It can withstand weight of up to 120kg!!!

It is lightweight and easy to move around from room to room if you or the kids wish,and they can decorate how they like, making it a great rainy day project.

It is completely recyclable and is protected by a green non toxic fire retardant.

Available from Beaming Baby for £29.99.

Brenda writes…

If you suffer from allergies, then it may be worthwile investigating silk filled duvets. They are expensive but if it helps alleviate the allergic conditions, then it is worth its weight in gold!

So Organic present the silk filled duvet by Mandarina.  it is a 9.0 tog duvet which can be used all year round, at this price, it would have to be used all year round in my house.

It has a cotton casing which is filled with long fibre mulberry silk which is naturally hyperallergenic, so is great for people who are allergic to dust mites as they are not able to grow in the silk.

So Organic point out that at the present time there is no organic silk produced, so the product is not organic but is produced in an eco friendly way, with no chemicals used.

Available in sizes from a single to a superking from £104.  But if you buy before the end of September 2008 they are offering you a fantastic 20% off.

Kat writes…

Regular paint leaches harmful VOCs and other nasties into your environment. To safeguard against the silent and unnoticed harm posed to your family you may want to consider using an natural organic paint.

earthBorn Organic Paints are big pots of colourful goodness. Made from natural products such as chalk and clay they do not contain the long list of harmful chemicals in ‘normal’ paints. We used their paint in our playroom and it gave fantastic coverage, smelled yummy and is hard wearing (despite the best efforts of a team of toddlers). They have a fab range of colours and don’t cost the earth (pun intended:).

Find out more at earthBorn Paints.