Add eco-chic to your home with an Enlaira recycled glass vase
This beautiful Enlaira recycled glass vase was featured in the Times magazine style section this week and you can certainly see why. Available in pink and black or white and black, it would make a stylish addition to any room and is currently on sale from Biome Lifestyle. This stunning contemporary vase is made in Spain from 100% post-consumer glass, so helps create demand for recycled glass and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. The vases are also sea-freighted to the UK to reduce carbon emissions, so you don’t have to worry about it clocking up the air miles. The Spanish producers are dedicated to using recycled glass to make beautiful products – every year the company reclaims 5 million kilos of glass from Spain’s recycling bins to transform into lovely items for the home. The vases uniquely combine computerised manufacturing techniques with artisan glass blowing skills that can be dated back centuries, so in buying an Enlaira recycled glass vase you are not only helping support a green producer but helping to keep these skills alive. The company has been designing and crafting these vases in Valencia since 1975, so have decades of experience in bringing the very best in contemporary eco-design to your home. So with winter fading and spring round the corner, why not treat yourself to a beautiful Enlaira vase to brighten up your living room?
Warm up your winter bedroom with this burnt orange fair trade and organic duvet cover
This icy winter just seems to keep getting colder, so why not add a touch of warmth to your home with this beautiful burnt orange organic and fair trade duvet cover? Currently on sale at a reduced price at Biome Lifestyle, this stylish and comfy double duvet cover is 100% hand woven, with each thread hand set on the loom by workers in Bangladesh. Workers are paid a fair wage for their products, with fair and safe working conditions, so by purchasing this you are helping marginalised workers secure fair pay and build their own future and invest in their own communities. Because the cotton is organic, you are also ensuring that the planet’s resources are not damaged by toxic pesticides (as non-organic cotton is a pesticide-heavy crop). The beautiful burnt orange colour is achieved by combining three different colour threads on the loom, giving each of these lovely soft duvet covers a richness of texture that will complement any bedroom – and add a bit of warmth to these cold winter nights. Matching pillowcases are also available (and are also currently on sale!) so why not treat yourself? And best of all, you can sleep easy under your organic and fair trade duvet cover knowing that your purchases are helping others and the planet at the same time.
Gardening – a great way to start going green
If you have a small plot of land spare, perhaps an allotment or garden, you may want to consider getting your fingers green this summer. Despite a worldwide economic downturn, the cost of living continues to rise. Indeed, many shoppers have noticed that their weekly food list is costing more than it had been when the economy was experiencing a stable inflation. Fortunately, for those who are also interested in doing their bit to ’save the planet’, financial savings can be coupled with a greener way of life.
Growing one’s own supply of vegetables, fruits and herbs may seem like a mission impossible to the uninformed, but actually it is relatively straightforward to get started. Depending on your local climate and the physical space you have available, growing your own produce can be sustainable throughout the year and offers a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs. If possible, erect a greenhouse in order to stimulate
regular growth, especially in relation to produce that would not normally grow during the UK’s colder months. However, do ensure that your greenhouse is eco-friendly by using materials that do not require excessive winter heating and, for the summer, develop a capillary watering system that supplies the plants with rain water, which can be collected in an external reservoir. Also ensure that produce is grown organically – the Earthmaker compost bin could come in handy for this – and that insect repellent plants such as Sweet Woodruff are used instead of pesticides. Finally, unless you want to feed the birds, do not forget to cover your produce with sufficient netting!
And to keep all of your gardening green you can find a great selection of green and ethical seeds, plants and garden accccessories at green retailers greenfingers.com , Nigels Eco Store and Biome
