Solar powered coasters make your party fun

If you want to light up your New Year’s Eve Party, why not try these solar powered coasters? These fun coasters are silver but change colour when you place your drink or bottle on them, going through a series of colours thanks to its integral solar panel which uses energy-efficient LED lights.  These solar powered coasters come with replaceable, rechargeable batteries so cost nothing to run and don’t need any wiring, so you can use them anywhere. The coasters are available in packs of two, so why not stock up for the party season – they make a great talking point for any table! When fully charged they give you up to six hours light, so long enough to see you well into the New Year! The coasters are produced by Smart Solar, a company which specialises in using the power of solar energy to create innovative products. These include lights and water decorations for the home and garden, all of which you can enjoy without using energy – so you can drink with a clear conscience – so if being green is one of your New Year’s resolutions, here is a great way to start. Just make sure you are drinking organic champagne or wine so that you know your celebrations are completely environmentally friendly – that way the planet gets a happy New Year too!

Experience days make eco-friendly Christmas gifts

Christmas might be one of the best times of the year for us, but it can be a nightmare for the planet. Year on year people buy more food than they need (do you really need three different types of trifle?) so a huge amount of organic waste is binned, and that’s before you even start on the presents. Every Boxing Day, vast piles of discarded packaging and gift wrap are thrown away – much of it non-recyclable – and, when it comes down to it, many of us are left with a big stash of presents that, if we’re honest, we don’t really need. So why not do something different this year and buy someone an experience instead? It’s easy to do: you simply pay in advance for a voucher they can redeem at a time that suits them. It’s fast and straightforward (no trailing around the shops!) and as you are buying experiences, not things, you are cutting down on wasteful packaging (although most vouchers do come in a presentation box, so it’s not entirely waste free) and it means your gift doesn’t end up stuck in a cupboard unused or, even worse, dumped in landfil. Sample gifts include restaurant experiences for two, or wine tastings, or a meal and a trip on the London Eye. Gourmets might enjoy the chocolate making workshop, while braver souls will thrill to the ‘Go Ape’ high wire experience. Each gift makes a big impact on the recipient, but a small impact on the planet.

Get your coffee without the guilt with a reusable mug

Britain has become a nation of coffee drinkers, but that habit has a high ecological cost as every day millions of disposable cups end up thrown away, destined for landfill. It is estimated that in the US alone, around 25 billion disposable cups are thrown away, and while the UK isn’t quite that bad, it does have an increasing problem. Most of the cups you use when buying takeaway coffee are coated in plastic resin, which means they cannot be recycled, so simply end up as more waste. To make matters worse, very few cups are made of recycled material – they tend to be made from virgin paper. But you can still have your morning coffee without adding to the landfill problem: use the I Am Not A Paper Cup porcelain mug. This double walled porcelain cup is especially designed for takeaway coffee, coming with a removable silicone lid. And, as many vendors now offer a small discount when you bring your own mug for refilling, it can even save you money in the long run! There are other ways you can make your morning coffee eco-friendly. Choose a coffee shop that uses Fair-trade coffee and organic milk, and you help coffee producers get a fairer price for their goods, and encourage eco-friendly farming practices. Or, of course, you can get into the habit of making your coffee at the office: take in a cafetiere and a pack of Fair-trade coffee and you will very quickly save yourself a considerable amount of money, as well as helping reduce waste. You might even be able to persuade your boss to switch to one of the new range of eco-kettles, which save energy and money by boiling as little water as is needed every time. All these small steps add up to significant eco-savings – and you still get to enjoy your morning cuppa!

I’ll drink to that! The rise in eco-friendly English wine

Many people these days are concerned about food miles, so try to reduce the amount of air-freighted food they consume. But few people consider the impact of ‘wine-miles’. This is partly due to the popularity of New World wines, but partly because, while the UK is well-known for the quality of its beers and ciders, it is not traditionally seen as a wine-producing country. Now a number of producers are trying to change this, and raise awareness of the quality wines available in our own back yard. One such producer is Davenport Wines, based in Sussex and Kent. Started by Will Davenport in 1991, the vineyards stopped using herbicides in 1996 and were registered with the Soil Association in 2000. Covering 20 acres of land, they now produce a range of award-winning organic wines – including sparkling – that give any imported wines a run for their money. These are not only the eco-friendly option because of their organic production methods, but also because, by drinking these wines, consumers are helping cut ‘wine miles’ and supporting a growing British trade. If, however, you love your New World wines too much to switch, there are still ethical alternatives. For instance, Friarwood wine merchants in the UK sell a selection of Fair Trade wines from Ormer Bay, including a range of vegan wines, which ensure their South African producers get a fair wage for their work. There are also now a selection of organic champagnes and cavas available. So whatever your tipple, you can always make a greener choice.

The Drive to Reverse Flagging Organic Food Sales 

Most consumers are aware that organic produce represents a greener alternative to everyday foodstuffs. Unfortunately, the true benefits of organic produce appear to be lost on the vast majority of shoppers. Indeed, organic foods imply sustainability and safety in so far as they are neither genetically modified nor treated with pesticides. In turn, this promotes the growth of natural ecosystems that are required in order to successfully produce organic food. Clearly, the benefit of eating natural produce that has not been chemically treated ought to appeal to consumers ‘en masse’. Organic food sales, however, have fallen some £34.1m in the year up to September 2009.

The most obvious and simple explanation for such a drop is that this period coincided with the recession, in which many shoppers were forced to tighten their belts. Indeed, as it costs more money to bring organic food items to supermarket shelves, it is necessary that they must be sold for a higher figure than their chemically treated cousins. In this respect, it would appear that many consumers have elected price over value.

Nevertheless, rather than throw in the towel and concede that organic produce has no future in the mass market, a number of leading organic food companies, such as Green & Blacks and Yeo Valley, have decided to push their offerings more aggressively. Indeed, the Organic Trade Board wants to boost sales by some £1bn, which would require reaching out to customers caught between price and value. However, it is argued that the success of such a campaign would hinge as much on reduced organic food prices as it would educating consumers. On-line retailers such as The Ethical Superstore and Natural Collection are addressing this issue by offering a range of promotions, including multi-buys and seasonal offers, (the Ethical Superstore’s Organic Fortnight ends next week), which make the organic option more affordable. It remains to see whether, in the midst of a recession, such efforts pay off.