Shopping

Ethical Living

Eco travel
www.carbonfootprint.com
Calculate your carbon footprint by using this site’s calculator. This family company divides your energy usage into household fuel bills and annual travel. The website also has a carbon offset quotation tool where you enter how much you would like to offset and are then presented with a list of options and prices.

www.climatecare.org
Allows you to calculate your emissions and pay towards offsetting them.

www.green-business.co.uk
A scheme working in conjunction with tour operators to lower emissions. Good resource for holidays in the UK.

www.greenglobe.org
Includes a Green Travel Planner to help you minimise the environmental impact of every aspect of your holiday.
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www.planeta.com
Invaluable resource for those wanting to travel with minimal environmental impact. It lists green schemes, travel companies and resorts.

Green supplies
www.bags2riches.co.uk
Offers a colourful array of lights and jewellery made from recycled bags. Designer Anna Roebuck encourages people to send their used bags to her so that they can be used for her designs.

www.bambino.co.uk
Bambino Mio offers environmentally friendly cotton nappies, waterproof nappy covers and biodegradable nappy liners for newborn babies up to two-and-a-half-year-olds.

www.beunpackaged.com
Sells organic wholefoods (such as rice, cereals and grains) and eco-cleaners without any packaging. You are asked to bring your own containers to fill with food and if you forget, it offers you a reusable container that you are asked to bring back with you next time. See website for where to buy Unpackaged products.

www.bynature.co.uk
An online store offering a range of organic and recycled products, including clothes for men, women and children. The environmentally friendly service also offers a wedding-list option, and donates 10 per cent of the total amount bought from the list to a charity of your choice.

www.equaclothing.com
The boutique is located in Islington’s Camden Passage, but you can purchase Equa’s fair trade and organic clothing for women and children on the website. New collections include Edum jeans.

www.faithinnature.com
Manufactures skincare products and cosmetics. All of its products are natural and are made in the UK. They are preservative-free, cruelty-free, aromatherapy, vegetarian and vegan (excluding the Neem & Propolis range). All products are approved by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

www.petitartisan.com
Offers a range of creative-craft kits, party bags and party kits for children aged three and older. Its products are based on safe, natural and recyclable materials and are designed to stimulate children’s imagination and manual skills.

Home
www.auroorganic.co.uk
Auro decorating products are made almost entirely of natural raw materials which come from environmentally managed sources. It also makes a point of not using petrochemicals in its products. Voted Ethical Consumer magazine’s ‘Best Buy’ in 2006.

www.chestofdrawers.co.uk
Chest of Drawers primarily sells solid-wood furniture imported from around the world. It has environmental grading for all its products, which fall into three main categories (wood source and sustainability, workshop practices and ‘furniture miles’) before summarising with a mark out of ten stars.

Recycling services
www.computeraid.org
Donate old, unwanted computers to schools in deprived areas overseas.

www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Official resource of environmental services offered by the government and local councils.

www.ethicalconsumer.org
A buyer’s guide to keeping your shopping trolley’s contents green.

www.fonebak.com
Offers to recycle mobile phones and accessories. It works with clients such as Orange and T-Mobile to generate financial returns while supporting environmental and corporate responsibility policies. You can send it phones under various schemes and choose what specific cause the phone goes towards.

www.freecycle.org
‘Waste not, want not’ is the premise of the cult of Freecycle. Offer anything from your worn-out mattress to an odd shoe – and someone in your local area may well relieve you of it.

www.icer.org.uk
Very informative site offering tips on disposing of electrical appliances as well as a directory of salvage companies throughout the UK.

www.morph.org.uk
Works with the council to collect unwanted furniture which it then restores beautifully and sells on cheaply in its Kingsland Road store. The three branches’ (Camberwell and Cambridgeshire, as well as Hackney) products are listed online or you can call 020 7168 2531 for the Hackney shop (www.morphhackney.org.uk).

www.officegreen.co.uk
Collects and recycles toner and inkjet-printer cartridges, mobile phones, computer equipment and fluorescent tubes. It is fully compliant with the WEEE Directive and Hazardous Waste Regulations.

www.recycleforlondon.co.uk
With a schedule of events, such as electronic equipment amnesties, and info about local services, this is a good place to start reducing your carbon footprint.

www.recyclingappeal.com
A charitable organisation that recycles old phones and electronic equipment and donates proceeds to good causes.

www.respondnetwork.org.uk
Respond Furniture Centre is a charity based in Thamesmead and specialises in recycling and reusing electrical goods and furniture to support those most in need in the community, including young people leaving care and homeless youths. Depending on the condition of your furniture, the charity will take it away for free.

www.reuze.co.uk
Easier to use than Freecycle, and the good stuff doesn’t disappear so quickly.

www.solarcentury.com
Offers tips on converting your home and life to solar energy.