Easy cleaning with the Eco Steam Buddy
The Eco Steam Buddy provides an easy and eco-friendly way to clean, allowing you to clean your home without the need for any polluting or environmentally damaging chemicals. The Eco Steam Buddy is a combined floor cleaner, bathroom sanitiser, fabric steamer, carpet steamer and a stain remover all in one. The fact that it produces dry steam means it can be used where moisture would be harmful. It can be used to clean glass, wood, tiles, carpets and laminated surfaces, and comes with a range of attachments such as brushes, squeegees and micropads, to maximize its adaptability. The Eco Steam Buddy comes with a fitted water filter that lasts over 300 uses, and the generous 2.2 litre tank means you can do the whole house without having to refill it. It has three digital settings, so you can choose how much steam you need for the job, which also enables you to save energy by using a lower setting. It’s a great way of cleaning without ending up flushing chemicals into the eco-system, and because it is in effect a number of products in one, it means you don’t have to purchase lots of different appliances, which saves you money and space! Even better, because you can use the Eco Steam Buddy to steam creases out of clothes, you also save on the ironing… and that has to be a good thing!
Pull an eco seed cracker this Christmas!
Even the most expensive or luxurious of Christmas crackers are destined for landfill five minutes after you’ve pulled them, but not these beautiful Biome eco seed crackers. Simple and stylish, the crackers come in boxes of six and they have a secret – each cracker is made from handmade seed paper, so once you have pulled the crackers you can plant the exterior paper and you will be able to grow your own wildflowers – much better than just consigning a pile of shiny paper to the rubbish bin! Inside the crackers you’ll find the traditional motto, snapper and hat, with each gift hand-made by a small co-operative of disadvantaged women in Nepal. The Wonderful Women collective in Katmandu helps socially and economically disadvantaged women build up their skills and independence and earn money in a safe, healthy and supportive environment. The women are paid fair wages to make their own chemical-free felt from soap and water and hand sew the lovely decorations for the crackers. The eco seed crackers themselves are handmade in the UK. They are also simple and stylish to look at, so would be an attractive addition to any festive feast. So why not pull a Biome eco seed cracker this Christmas, and help socially disadvantaged women in Nepal build a better future for themselves at the same time?
This fair trade footstool lets you rest easy
This beautiful fair trade footstool is a great addition to any living room. The simple but stylish design is made from pale banana fibre woven onto a rattan pole frame and topped with a comfy cotton, feather-filled cushion. The cushions are available in hand woven white cotton from Indonesia or blue or terracotta fabrics sourced from the UK, depending on your decor needs. The fair trade footstool is part of a range by the Fair Trade Furniture Company, which specialises in furniture made by fair trade producers in Indonesia. This fair trade agreement ensures that workers are not exploited and receive a fair wage for their work, enabling them to invest in their own communities. The Fair Trade Furniture Company is also committed to environmental principles – it avoids air freighting where possible, and aims at using energy efficient supplies in both its warehouses and showroom, as well as trying to use the most environmentally friendly materials for its products. The company places great value on the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of its producers in developing countries, so you can sit pretty on this fair trade footstool, comfortable in knowing you are helping craftspeople in developing countries earn a fair wage for their work.
This organic cotton eco-friendly roll up bed is perfect for guests this Christmas
If you’ve got guests coming over Christmas but aren’t sure where to put them, why not invest in this eco-friendly roll up bed? Taking up minimal space but unrolling into a comfortable sleeping mattress, this eco-friendly roll up bed was designed in England and made in Kerala in India and will have your guests sleeping easy. The production factory in Kerala is fully accredited to SA 8000 – this means that workers are guaranteed fair wages, the right to fair bargaining powers and ensures that child labour is not used, so you can be sure no one was exploited in its production. As well as being kind to people, the bed is kind to the planet – it is handmade from high-quality, hand woven and organically grown cotton (so no toxic chemicals were used!). The organic cotton is then dyed using environmentally friendly, natural colourfast dyes. (The bed cover is 100% organic cotton, the filling is man-made). Big enough for an adult to sleep on comfortably, the eco-friendly roll up bed is perfect for camping or putting up guests, and rolls up to a compact size for easy storage and is also relatively lightweight, so easy to carry if you want to use it when you travel. Best of all, even the most eco-conscious among us will be able to rest easy knowing that their eco-friendly roll up bed has been produced in a way that is both people-friendly and environmentally-friendly.
Stylish and chic eco-design with a recycled glass grape light
Much like the sustainable coco tooth light we featured in an earlier post, this recycled glass grape light proves that green design doesn’t have to look ‘rustic’ or ‘hippyish’. It is a perfect example of how eco-friendly and ethical designers are taking green principles and using them to make some of the most cutting edge interiors products around. The recycled glass grape light is made from 100% recycled glass, and is available in a range of colours. You can select turquoise, amber or clear glass, depending on what best complements your decor, and the light would make a beautiful and striking addition to any home. Although the design may look hi-tech, it actually utilises traditional skills, with each bulb in this recycled glass grape light handmade by traditional craftsmen on the souks of Damascus and Aleppo. Recycled glass is gathered from the local area, brought to the workshop and then crushed and melted before being worked into this stunning design, making the light a perfect combination of age-old skills and modern design. The light comes in three sizes – small, medium and large – depending on your living space, or you could buy a range of sizes and colours for a more dramatic effect. Whatever your choice, this recycled glass grape light allows you to support environmentally friendly producers without compromising your aesthetic standards.
Ethical, sustainable and stylish - the coco tooth light
Many people here the words ‘ethical design’ and it conjures up images of cheesecloth or tie-dye, but this stunning coco tooth light illustrates that ethical, sustainable design can also be the epitome of contemporary chic. Proving that being green doesn’t have to mean ‘hippy’, this coco tooth light is designed to show that you can be ethical without compromising on good design. Handmade in the Philippines, this beautiful light is made from coconut shell slivers sourced from ethical growers. These shell slivers are cut, bleached and drilled and then sewn onto a wire frame to give this striking fluid effect that is both modern and natural. The coco tooth light is not only stylish it is sustainable: the coconut shell slivers are a sustainable by-product of the food industry, so using them in this way not only provides an extra source of income for the growers, it reduces landfill and is an innovative way to use what would just otherwise be waste. 27cm in height and with a diameter of 45cm, this light looks like it has sprung from the pages of a design magazine and would make a perfect focal point to any room. Who says ethical can’t be cool?
Relax this Christmas with a domestic goddess aromatherapy candle
We’re all so busy these days that there never seems to be time to relax, but this gorgeous domestic goddess aromatherapy candle aims to help you unwind. This scented soy wax candle contains essence of sweet orange, which helps maintain calm, and essence of frankincense to keep the mind elevated – so whether you are having people round to dinner or just trying to get all of your Christmas chores sorted, lighting this domestic goddess aromatherapy candle will help you remain unflustered. The candle is 100% natural and is eco-friendly, as soy wax is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and burns cleaner than paraffin wax, being virtually soot free. The candle’s soy wax is made from soybeans, which are a renewable and sustainable resource, as well as being biodegradable. Even the wicks are made of soy! Containing natural essential oils and fragrances and hand poured in the UK, each candle offers about 50 hours burn time, so they are excellent value for money. As well as the domestic goddess aromatherapy candle, the range includes a love potion candle – perfect for Valentine’s Day! - which contains jasmine, a proven aphrodisiac. Or if you feel you never have enough hours in the day, can choose the 25/7 aromatherapy candle, which contains stimulating essences of basil, sweet lemon and grapefruit. So unleash your inner domestic goddess today with an aromatherapy candle – and you can be a green goddess at the same time!
Eco-friendly sofas made from cardboard – comfier than they sound!
Eco-friendly or not, a cardboard sofa doesn’t sound like much fun, but this stylish cardboard eco-friendly sofa might just change your mind! Stylish and chic, this eco-friendly sofa is designed in Sweden – and those Swedes know a thing or two about design and the environment! Made from sustainable cardboard (40% of it recycled), the eco-friendly sofa is a perfect addition to any living room – and is comfier and more practical than it sounds! The cardboard eco-friendly sofa manages to encapsulate contemporary style without compromising ethical standards, to create a chic and eco-friendly choice. Sustainable, recycled cardboard is becoming an increasingly popular material for furniture – it has a natural, pared down look that is contemporary and stylish and fits well into a modern home. Sturdy and practical, this cardboard has a very low impact on the environment: coming from a mix of sustainable sources and recycled board, the eco-friendly sofa can of course be broken up and recycled again should you ever need to dispose of it – though as it is built to last, and to love, that will probably be years down the line. To ensure you keep your ethical credentials up, why not furnish your cardboard eco-friendly sofa with some environmentally friendly cushions – perhaps made from organic cotton or recycled seatbelts? This means you’ll be sitting comfortably – and comfortable that you are helping the planet by buying sustainable and environmentally friendly products.
Morphy Richards PerformAir bagless eco vacuum cleaner
There won’t ever be anything fun about vacuuming, but at least you can make this chore a bit greener by using an eco vacuum cleaner. The PerformAir bagless eco vacuum cleaner by Morphy Richards is great around the house – it is upright and easily gets around corners so you can get into every nook and cranny – but it is also great for the planet, as it uses up to 50% less energy than a standard vacuum cleaner. This means the eco vacuum cleaner saves you energy and money, but still achieves the high standards you would expect of today’s household appliances. Because the PerformAir eco vacuum cleaner is made by respected brand Morphy Richards, you can be assured it is eco friendly without compromising on performance. The eco vacuum cleaner also has HEPA filtration, which traps and retains microscopic particles such as pollen, making it an ideal choice for those with allergies (in fact, it has the British Allergy Foundation seal of approval!). The PerformAir eco vacuum cleaner is very light despite its 4.2 litre capacity so is easy to carry but you have to empty it less frequently, and has a click-to-clean filter, making it super easy to use. But its main eco feature is an economical 1000W low energy motor, which delivers the same performance as a 2000W but without the running costs or environmental impact. So while nothing can make the housework any more exciting, you can at least make it more energy efficient by using a Morphy Richards PerformAir eco vacuum cleaner.
Stylish and ethical – the Twig bench from Pinch
A beautiful and unique addition to any home, the handmade Twig bench is also eco-friendly and ethical. A stunning piece of furniture, the Twig bench is made from coppiced Hazel from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Because of the nature of its design, each Twig bench is completely unique and, due to its production methods and materials, it is inherently environmentally friendly as the wood is sustainable and comes from carefully managed sources in the UK. The Twig bench was originally a one-off piece designed for Neal’s Yard Remedies’ Dorset head office, but popular demand has seen it be made available to the general public. The Twig bench is designed by London-based husband and wife team Russell Pinch and Oona Bannon, aka the award winning Pinch Design. Pinch specialise in using local materials in their pieces, thus reducing air miles and supporting British suppliers, as well as ensuring they can keep a tight control on quality. Each piece is handmade to order using skilled British craftsmen, which supports local artisans and reduces waste, as nothing is produced that isn’t required. And, of course, in buying handcrafted British furniture made by British designers, you are supporting not only sustainable crafts but helping British craftspeople flourish in a difficult economic climate! Carefully crafted and made to last, each Twig bench is meant to give a lifetime of loving use.
