As we approach the official start of the summer and the longest day it appears that festival season is in full swing. Last weekend we had the Isle of White festival and soon it will be Glastonbury- which for the first time in years has not sold out! The best festival by far (in my opinion) has to be Latitude. Sadly I missed out on tickets this year and I am still immensely disappointed. However I thought I would still let you know why Latitude is one of the most ethical and green festivals.
Latitude is now in its third year and is held near Southwold in the UK. It is a unique festival in that there is music, poetry, comedy and loads of other exciting stuff going on amid beautiful scenery. At night there is a club in the woods, which is decorated with fairy lights- very magical. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a festival so much before. The ethos behind the festival is great and there is a real sense that the organiser’s care about ethical and green issues.
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Last year when we arrived at the campsite we were given a Camper’s Waste Kit to separate our waste so it could be recycled. There were also Ecocover shower gel etc for us to use. One of my favourite ideas was to pay a deposit and get a plastic pint glass for the duration of the festival. This encouraged people to hang onto their glass rather than throw them away after they have been used. In fact, almost a year on we still have ours!
There will be Green Messengers on site who will be able to direct you to the recycling bins and offer advice on how to be good to the environment. The festival organisers are also encouraging people to travel in an eco-friendly fashion by taking the train, coach and running a car share scheme. Even the Market Traders have to be eco-friendly with their packaging and recycling their waste! All good ideas!
One of the best things about Latitude is that the event organisers really want to hear your ideas. Their website has a forum section where people can post their thoughts, positive and negative, and offer suggestions and ideas. There is a section for Latitude Green where people have been posting their green ideas. Someone has had the idea of a place you can share items that you might have forgotten to bring with you so you do not have to buy them.
The Latitude festival has some tips for green camping which you can read here. These tips can be used where ever you are camping be it at a festival or on holiday.
So there we have it. What a wonderful festival. The organisers Festival Republic have a strong ethical and green ethos which is evident in the way they think about running their events. They use renewable energy and recycle and use green cleaning products in their offices. Their aim is that this will spread the message to the people who go to their festivals. It’s good to see a company practicing what they preach so well done to all those who put in so much effort to organise these events.
Enjoy the festival season!
