Archive for July, 2008

BBC Thread Ethical Fashion competition

July 31, 2008 · Filed under ethical fashion · Tagged , , , ,

We have just heard about an interesting competition run by BBC Thread.  Unfortunately my fashion design skills are non-existant or else I’d be having a go.  Check out the details below:

The Search is on!

 

BBC Thread is looking to put your style on trial.

Can you set the trend for ethical fashion this summer?

 

If you think you have what it takes, check out BBC Thread’s Style Search competition.

 

www.bbc.co.uk/thread/stylesearch

 

You could win a day with a catwalk stylist, assisting with the styling of the Thread fashion show at London Fashion Week!

 

Style Search is now open for entries and works like this:

 

1. You upload a digital photo of an ethical fashion outfit styled by you to the Style Search website (www.bbc.co.uk/thread/stylesearch)

2. A panel of fashion experts cast their eye over it.

3. If it’s eco-fabulous enough, you get to go to London Fashion Week.

 

Simple. Get styling!

 

Applications close on 26th August 2008-07-03 Entrants must be aged 16 or over.

All finalists will need to be available between 14-21st September 2008 to take up the prize.

Sounds like fun.  Who knows where it may lead!!

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SKY is carbon neutral

July 28, 2008 · Filed under Companies going green, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , , ,


When we go through companies going green we often talk about what measure companies are taking to go carbon neutral.  However, with Sky there is no need to do this.  This is because Sky is the first media company in the world to be totally carbon neutral.  That’s right since 2006 Sky has no carbon footprint to speak of!!  They did this with the help of a company called Carbon Neutral who are helping companies all over the world become carbon neutral.

It doesn’t stop there.  Sky are also committed to helping their customers live more sustainably.  They are doing this by using the medium of TV by increasing the number of environmental programmes they show.  Sky engineers also gave customers energy efficient light bulbs when they installed various Sky products.

You can also download Sky’s Rough Guide to Saving Energy and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint which shows you how to go carbon neutral and save money.  There are more ways in which the company is helping the environment which you can find by visiting their website.

It’s good to see a company like Sky using their medium of TV and advertising to do something positive for the environment.  It’s even better that they are setting a good example by being completely carbon neutral and still striving to do more.  This makes me feel a lot better now when I sit down to watch TV using Sky Plus.  Not only is Sky Plus (in my opinion) one of the best inventions it is also guilt free now I know Sky is carbon neutral.  The fact you can also get broadband from Sky and do online shopping, therefore reducing your personal carbon footprint is even better.

 

If you want to sign up to Sky in an effort to reduce your carbon footprint and get Sky Digital TV, Broadband, Phone for £26, order online!

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Tesco Cath Kidston bags

July 25, 2008 · Filed under carbon neutral, ethical fashion, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , ,

Blue Spot Cath Kidston bag designed for Tesco

Who else thinks that the bag shown above is a thing of beauty?  It is made by one of my favourite designers Cath Kidston and is in her trademark spotty design and are on sale at Tesco.

There are many other wonderful features about this bag including the fact that it is made out of nine recycled 500ml bottles.  Even better 50p from each bag sold goes to the Marie Curie Cancer Care.  No profit goes to either Tesco or Cat Kidston and you can earn green Clubcard points when you use it.

Aside from their style, ethical and green credentials and charitable donations the bags are a mere snip at £3.50 which make them possible the cheapest Cath Kidston bags you will ever own!

So go on and buy yourself one.  Not only will you look stylish but you’ll also be helping save the planet by recycling, going carbon neutral and donating money to charity.  Can life get any better?  Get yours here.

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Ethical and Green Condoms

July 21, 2008 · Filed under Fairtrade, organic products, sustainable living · Tagged , , , , , ,

We have been showing how ethical and green issues have become more mainstream over the last two years. We have looked at green cars, green mobile phones, ethical fashion, eco-clubbing and now bring you ethical and green condoms! Yes that’s right- if you want to life a completely ethical and green life there are now even certain condoms you can use.

French Letter condoms are made by Fair Deal Trading ho guarantee higher wages and better working conditions for rubber tappers in South Asia. Fair Deal Trading originally brought Fairtrade footballs to the UK but have expanded into different avenues…..

So are their condoms safe? Yes they are! French Letter condoms are kitemarked by the BSI and are CE marked. This means that they meet all the standards.

There we have it- no excuses for not living an ethical and green life!  Enjoy!

French Letter condoms can be bought from Ethical Superstore by clicking the image below.

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Ethical fashion outfits for eco-clubbing

July 19, 2008 · Filed under carbon footprint, carbon neutral, ethical fashion · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Right.  It’s the weekend.  You are socially responsible and want to be as carbon neutral as possible. You decide to go to London’s eco-friendly club Surya.  But what do you wear?  You feel must wear something ethical and green or the bouncers may not let you in.  There may also be a special someone you want to impress with your caring attitude towards the environment.  The clothes are important.

As we have seen ethical fashion is no longer unfashionable and you can wear ethical fashion brands with pride.  Ethical and Green are here to give you a helping hand in finding the best outfit.

Firstly, the girls.  We found some great dresses such as this one from Peopletree.

Bora Asku Dress  

This is called the Bora Aksu Dress and is available from Adiliand (joy) is currently in the sale.  Peopletree is a well known ethical fashion brand so you can rest assured that your threads will be ethical and green.

 

Another dress we loved is this one from ethical fashion brand Edun.

Requiem DressThe Requiem Dress can be worn by itself or with skinny jeans or leggins.  You can dress it up or down.  Again this is in the sale at Adili.

Hopefully you can see from these pictures that you can be ethical and fashionable!

If  you really want to impress check out British fashion company Quail.  That way you can tell people that not only is your fashion ethical but is also local as all the products they use are from Devon.

 

Next up something for the boys!  We thought these trousers were pretty cool.

Regular Fit Twill Trouser  These were designed by the folk at Adili and also come in a cream colour.  

Sunny T-ShirtThe t-shirt opposite is designed by Organic Stereo.  They are a new ethical fashion company based in Brighton.  Wearing clothing from the UK massively reduces the carbon footprint of your clothes.

All the images are from Adili and can be found in their online shop.  Click hereto be taken to the site.

So there we have it- ethical fashion for eco-clubbing!!  We’ll be bringing you more on ethical fashion brands so keeping stopping by.

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Eco-clubbing?!

July 17, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, ethical fashion, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , , , ,

  Last week saw the launch of the world’s ‘first’ eco-club in London.  Surya is an environmentally sustainable club run by the so-called Dr. Earth and is in Kings Cross.  Green really is the new black as the green revolution moves into the world of clubbing.  Is eco-clubbing going to be the next big thing?

  So how do you make a club green?  Well the club is powered by wind turbines and solar energy and generates enough electricity to pass on to its neighbours.  With rising energy prices this will make Surya very popular!

  Alongside alternative energy the club has low flush toilets, eco-friendly air conditioning and a rather exciting dancefloor.  According to Dr. Earth the dancing motion will help generate electricity!  This is due to a mixture of quartz crystals, ceramics and some interesting technology.  So now even dancing can be responsible and green!!

    The indoors is also kitted out with recycled and eco-friendly materials.  For example there is a Biro chandelier.  They even sell organic wine and beer.  Not sure about the spirits or mixers though…..

  It seems that ethical and green issues are really in the limelight at the moment.  People are concerned about their carbon footprint and being carbon neutral.  If Surya can convince it’s guests to make even the smallest of changes to reduce their carbon footprint this could make a big difference to the environment.  Hopefully eco-clubs will eventually become the norm as opposed to a unique selling point.

  We’ll be bringing you information on ethical fashion so you can have a complete eco-clubbing experience!  You can check out ethical fashion at Adili.

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Eco Libris

July 14, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , ,

The founder of Eco Libris recently contacted us and told us about his business. We had a look and it sounds like a great idea. Here is some more information about the site:

More than 20 million of trees are cut down annually for virgin paper used for the production of books sold in the U.S. alone. What Eco Libris want to do is to raise awareness to the environmental impacts of using paper for the production of books and provide people and businesses with an affordable and easy way to do something about it: plant one tree for every book they read, sell or publish. Customers also receive a sticker made of recycled paper for every book they balance out saying “One tree planted for this book” and can later display these stickers on their books’sleeves. Publishers can use the logo in their cover designs to indicate one tree is planted for that book.

Eco Libris have partnered with three highly respected US and UK registered non-profit organizations (SHI, AIR, RIPPLE Africa) that work in collaboration with local communities in developing countries to plant the trees. These trees are planted in high ecological and sustainable standards in Latin America and Africa, where deforestation is a crucial problem, and planting trees not only helps to fight climate change and conserve soil and water, but also benefits many local people, for whom these trees offer many benefits and an opportunity for a better future.

Eco Libris are one year old and in the past year they have balanced out 50,005 books which results in 65,586 new trees that are being planted with their planting partners in developing countries.  What a great result!  Their website is http://www.ecolibris.net 

They also run a blog that is about “books, trees and everything in between”.

The address is http://ecolibris.blogspot.com.  Get involved.

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Prince Charles shrinks his carbon footprint

July 3, 2008 · Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, reduce carbon footprint · Tagged , , , ,

Those of you who keep up to date with the Royal Family will know that Prince Charles is a keen eco-warrior.  He is committed to renewable energy programs and runs his Duchy business in an ethical and green fashion.

This week in the news it was revealed that Prince Charles has reduced his carbon footprint even further by running his cars on biofuel.  He has reportedly spent £5000 converting his Jaguars, Audi and Range Rover to run entirely on biodiesel.

What intrigued us here at Ethical and Green is the fact that Prince Charles 38 year old Aston Martin has been converted to run on bioethanol from surplus wine!  What a great idea!  Who knows- maybe one day we’ll all be doing this.  Watch this space….

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What is ethical fashion?

July 1, 2008 · Filed under ethical fashion · Tagged , , , , , ,

Ethical fashion are the latest buzzwords in the undoubted green bandwagon. It’s now hip to show off your green and ethical credentials and the fashion industry is starting to join the party.  Ethical and Green thought it would be useful to give you a quick guide as to what ethical fashion is all about.

So what exactly is ethical fashion? Well it is fashion that takes into account where the materials have come from and how the people who make it are treated. This means that Fairtrade cotton is used and the clothes makers are given a decent wage and treated with the respect they deserve. Organic materials should also be made without the use of toxins that can harm the environment. The synthetic materials nylon and polyester also contribute to global warming because the petrochemicals from which they are made pollute the environment.

Treating workers fairly means giving them a competitive wage, working reasonable hours and having a decent standard of working conditions. Basically the workers should not be exploited. 

However it’s not just the source of the materials from which clothes are made that makes fashion ethical. There is also eco-fashion which is part of ethical fashion whereby clothes should be recycled rather than thrown away. Oxfam is leading the way by refurbishing it’s stores in London and asking students from the London College of Fashion to customise their stocks. 

There has been comment in magazines such as The Sunday Times Style supplement that ethical fashion just isn’t trendy and therefore won’t take off. This site will show you that ethical fashion can be trendy and it times where money is tight second hand clothing could become acceptable.

We’ll show you who the up and coming ethical fashion designers are and how to access their products. This will include clothes, shoes, accessories and anything else we come across so keep stopping by.

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