They are at the forefront of Fairtrade spices in the UK and Europe and continually strive to work in an eco-friendly manner.

Steenbergs Organic use ‘green’ suppliers where possible and have a factory filled with environmental features. So whether you want to buy indian spices or create delicious puddings, Steenbergs will have something for you.

Steenbergs Organic are passionate about providing Fairtrade organic spices and organic cooking ingredients packed with flavour, aroma and provenance.

All their organic food is carbon neutral has great flavour, is stylishly yet functionally packed to help you create gorgeous creations.  They have just launched their new organic bakery ingredients range. 

www.steenbergs.co.uk

They sell a full range of gourmet ethical teas and coffees, along with a compliment of indulgent chocolate bars.

www.oxfordethical.co.uk

All the clothes within their range are made using 100% organic and Fairtrade certified cotton and merino wool.

They also have a range of organic bedding and gifts which means you will find everything to help you be organic for your kids.

www.organicforyourkids.co.uk

Driven by music, art and innovative craftsmanship, Organic Stereo aims to dress the value-conscious yet fashion-minded individual.

Their responsible approach to manufacturing means they are involved in every step of the garment making process. From the raw fibre they select, to the packaging of our product.

The cotton used for their Spring-Summer 08 collection was organically grown and spun in Turkey, everything else (knitting, dying, printing and manufacturing) made in Porto (Portugal), before being shipped to their warehouse in the UK. This considerably reduces the transport of goods and therefore its impact on the environment.

Their certified cotton is organically grown and spun in Turkey, free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. While the dying process of our cotton is free of harmful chemicals and chlorine and heavy metals. The prints on their garments are waterbased (pvc-free).

Most of Organic Stereo’s buttons are made from 70% recycled paper, using a new technology that has been developed in Italy. And they are as tough as plastic and their swing tag labels are made from recycled paper and the string is natural straw making it fully biodegradable.

www.organicstereo.com

Bohemian, eccentric and eco-friendly, Nixie is the label for the 21st century with beautiful sourced vintage fabrics and reconditioned wools are matched to create our exclusive collections.

From one off vintage pieces to Kid’s Couture, each piece is individually crafted in London, UK with their S/S’08 Collection catering for girls and boys aged 1-8 years.

A vibrant combination of carefully selected vintage fabrics, from Silk Tops to Bohemian Lace Dresses and 1930’s Style Coats.

The inspiration coming from the first opening of Spring flowers and the sweet smell of a warm summers breeze.

www.nixieclothing.com

They buy their products directly from Brazilian indians with whom they have longstanding relationships.  In addition to providing them with a fair price for their coconut products, Cocoart have been providing them with notebooks (for the children), pencils, flip-flops and other basic items that are common in the industrialized world but difficult for them to obtain.

Cocoart promote the use of natural jewelry, made of seeds, pods, nuts and other natural materials as way of avoiding industrialized products, like plastics and metals. The harvest of seeds for jewellery purposes is sustainable and without pesticides.

The production is totally organic as most of the plants have grown naturally. Only recently the indians started planting the species that provide the seeds they want. These populations haven’t got access to chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

www.cocoart.co.uk

Made of these environmentally friendly materials, their finished bags are really sustainable & reusable and often to be found in various grocery stores, retail stores and supermarkets. 

Charrmy can also produce bags in custom designs.

Charrmy’s slogan care for the environment by producing  eco-friendly products.  Their bag factory has been ISO9001:2000 Quality Management System Certified in 2007.

Fair trade & Fair labour is the basic idea of their factory. All the workers have good living & working conditions in the factory.

Charrmy are serious about their corporate social responsibility.  They pay their employees a higher rate than the national labor law regulation, to encourage the workers to work with a good and happy spirit. Also they choose our suppliers of fabrics with the same policy.

www.charrmy.com

Pure Design brings you eco furniture, vintage and organic cushions, calico placemats, and eco lighting, as well as exclusive recycled jewellery and sustainable accessories for women.

Pure Design acknowledge and respect the skills, time and devotion invested in the work they sell.  They are also proud of their artists and promote them as the people behind the art work. 

Pure Design provides a convenient and accessible way for you to view and buy the green work of all their designers and artists in one place.

Pure Design also offers a commission service to private and public individuals or companies.

www.puredesigncompany.co.uk

They use web hosts whose servers are solar powered.  And their own website is hosted by a solar powered server.

Business waste is recycled and reduced as much as possible.  Organic waste is composted.  Shopping bags are re-used.  And public transport is used for business where possible.

Recycled paper is used for business communication and Fairtrade products are bought in preference to non Trade Fair products.

www.low-cost-web-designs.co.uk

All of our garments are supplied by a respectable Fair Wear manufacturer, and are produced to the highest ethical standards.Our t-shirts feature original designs, some of which comment on ecological subjects in a serious or humourous way.

www.nicevisuals.co.uk

Nearly all of us have an object at home whose sentimental value far outweighs its worth in cold hard cash. And despite what some may say, savouring your precious objects doesn’t make you Gollum from Lord of the Rings! I think it is a really valuable characteristic; one that will help us all to make the most of what we have, and keep it that way for the future.

Most of us are already questioning how our lifestyle impacts on the planet; in particular our consumption of resources such as fossil fuels, food, clothing and household goods. I propose that one of the best ways to reduce our rate of consumption (particularly of personal and household goods) is to invest in objects of quality that last, that we can keep, and that we can share with others.

Having worked in the craft sector for 4 years now, opening Pure Design, an eco-design gallery earlier this year, I regularly visit craft fairs to scout for new eco-design talent. This week I met Amy, a maker who has set up an alternative luxury knitwear brand called ‘Keep & Share’. Her mission is to create a sustainable ‘slow fashion’ label, which seeks to reverse the effects of throwaway fashion by creating ‘best friend’ pieces that will transcend short-lived trends and age gracefully. I thought this was right on the money.

And the great news is, there are many more makers and designers who have a very similar outlook to Amy.
Susiemaroon, a Scottish eco-designer takes leather otherwise destined for landfill and creates chic floor hides and cushions. An Alleweireldt from Oxx uses old floppy disks, vinyl records and lollipops she has hoarded over the years to create cutting edge jewellery. What many describe as a labour of love (41% of UK makers earned less than £10,000 in 2002) drives these artists to create unique and beautiful pieces of design that we can buy and admire every day. Craft also satiates our desire to collect, with individual pieces acting as souvenirs or memories of a person, place or time.

ND as craft is small scale production, designers are able to keep tabs on exactly what goes into their ‘product’. They can source greener, sustainable materials, often using locally sourced, found or reclaimed materials. They can control production techniques, using non-toxic dyes and chemicals. And with so many artists working from home – they can keep their own carbon footprint right down. Weaver, Angela Morley talks about her passion for nature and natural materials in BBC’s Made in England

With these positive eco aspects to craft, and not forgetting the fact that craft can suit all budgets, shouldn’t we all take a little more time to measure the true worth of products before we pay out? And with all the economists telling us we need to watch our spending, I think craft for keeps could be a very sound investment…

Image credits - image one: Audrey Hayes, Scorched Wooden Vessell, image two: Oxx An Alleweireldt, ‘ ‘Diskette bracelet’. image three: Susiemaroon, ‘Digitally embroidered leather cushion.

About Pure Design:

Elaine set up Pure Design, a social enterprise and online eco-design gallery in October 2007. Its mission is to promote sustainable design and designers in the UK. Pure Design does this largely by providing a platform from which designers can show and sell their work, and encourages exchange of eco-design knowledge between established and emerging eco-design talent. To
find out more please visit our website.

Not at all, despite the misconception that living sustainably requires independent wealth, there are plenty of things anyone can do to make a real difference that will cost next to nothing. Small changes are important. Recycling, composting, line drying, using cloth nappies switching off appliances when not in use, showering rather than bathing, car sharing to name but a few. All these options can actually help to save you money. Why is there not more publicity and education to help people make informed choices about the simple things we can all do, is it a bit too mundane, not newsworthy enough? Perhaps I’m being a bit cynical?

There have been countless articles written about Hollywood’s new fashion of flaunting it’s green credentials but special effects explosions, idling vehicles and diesel generators make film and television production second only to the oil industry in terms of polluting emissions. Yet studio executives insist changes are being made in response to growing public awareness about climate change. Environmentally conscious actors are reportedly spending fortunes on the latest energy saving technology and backing green causes but employing double standards such as flying hairdressers hundreds of miles and driving huge gas guzzling cars. I suppose it’s the grand gestures that make the news and in our present societies fascination with ‘Celebrity Culture’ celebrities endorsement of the green message can certainly only be helpful in helping to influence the choices people make.

Marks and Spencer have had a highly publicized campaign recently about recycling plastic bags and will charge 5p for their bags in future. But a new study by the Local Government Association has cast doubt on those green credentials. The report, published last week, found that a typical shopping trip generated an average of 714g of packaging – and M&S was second from the bottom of the pile just ahead of Lidl, with 807g, and a lower percentage of it recyclable than any other retailer. Plastic bags seem rather beside the point perhaps they had better look at their packaging. One person I spoke to recently said that she often removes unnecessary packing at the checkout and leaves it there!

Unfortunately my generation were brought up with the belief that the Earth’s bounty was inexhaustible, but our children have had to learn that it is not and needs to be guarded with care. Mother Earth will recover from whatever we choose to do to it. Look at what it has survived the past, The Ice age, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami.

Mankind however cannot survive if we continue to dissipate our resources at the rate we have been.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Unlike some agent schemes, team members earn a very generous 40% commission on everything they sell as well as a monthly 10% sales bonus.

For someone looking for a green and ethical flexible, part-time job, a way of supplementing their existing income or even a life-changing business opportunity, then this could be the break they’ve been looking for.

Interested?

Learn more about the Arabella Miller kids clothes party plan.

???????? ????? ????????

www.believe-you-can.com

www.greenhaus.co.uk

www.therecyclelady.co.uk

www.cioccolatina.co.uk

www.fairganic.co.uk

Their range includes natural soap, bath and butter bombs, Dead Sea bathing salts/milks, Dead Sea salt scrubs, massage and facial oils, butter balms and lip balm.

www.naturalsoapworks.co.uk

Along with being ethical and having a fair-trade policy, on an annual basis a percentage of profits will go to a charity chosen by you, the consumer.

www.akalico.co.uk

www.organic-furnishings.co.uk

www.ecohamster.co.uk

www.echarger.co.uk

www.fameo.co.uk