Posts from — January 2008

Prince Charles has just announced he won’t be attending the opening ceromony of the Olypmic Games in Bejing.

Charles is a long-term supporter of the Dalai Lama and the Tibeten people’s long struggle to free their home land from Chinese control.

In a written response to the Free Tibet Campaign the Prince reported that he had no plans to attend the event.

Over 1,000,000 Tibetans have died or been killed as a direct result of the Chinese invasion of their country. Tibetans are still being torture simply for their religious beliefs or expressing a wish for independnce from Chinese rule.

If you are considering attending the Games. Please think again.

Hallam University has just been awarded Fairtrade status by the Fairtrade Foundation.

Staff and students have made Fairtrade food available throughout the campus and in all the student union shops.

Nice work Hallam Uni!

Thanks to those of you who’ve sent me encouragement for my new website. It is starting to take shape and I’m doing a lot of research about ethical clothing right now. Its not quite as simple as it sounds. Like with everything else that falls under the ethical umbrella it seems straightforward until you start to get into the detail.

Most retailers seem to specialise in one of the main ethical areas, some stock a few products that cover more than one area but very few (that I’ve found so far) declare themselves as stocking all Fair Trade and all eco-friendly goods. Perhaps its still early days.

Even fewer shops mention animal issues. It would be really useful for consumers to know which products contain animals.  Leather is obvious but glue isn’t. Most mention that cosmetics or toiletries haven’t been tested on animals but some don’t. and I’ve taken the stance that if its not specifically mentioned then I will assume that animal testing was involved.

For some stores I’ve asked them to send more details and these will be included on my new site.

Take care

Pamela

Perhaps we can put a bit of pressure on retailers to make it clear when products have been produced cruelty free.

Isn’t it ridiculous that you can’t even eat a bar of chocolate without wondering if there’s a bit of a cow in it!

Mars simply refuses to remove the animal rennet from Twix, Milky Way and Celebrations and instead have agreed to label its meat free products as “suitable for vegetarians” . However they are warning that removing the rennt from the other products will take some time so be warned.

Please sign the petition and put some pressure on Mars to make their chocolate bars veggie!

More shoppers are willing to pay more for organic food than they are to pay for ethically produced clothing, research carried out by OMD Snapshots on behalf of Utalkmarketing.com has shown.

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EcoGeek is here to keep you informed of the latest technologies that are making our lives better while also ensuring that we don’t spoil the Earth at the same time. Here are ten technologies that I can’t wait for, and that I think we’ll see (to varying degrees) in 2008.

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If waste equals food, how about food waste? This article covers the beauty of thinking. Specifically, putting the waste materials from the manufacturing of chocolate to use as an ingredient in the processing of diesel fuel.

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The problem lies not with cotton as a fabric but in the cost of growing it.

Cotton is a massive industry. Cotton crops cover over 5% of the world’s cultivated land and account for 16% of the pesticides used globally. 16% on one crop!!! How bad is that! What’s more, as virtually all cotton is grown in developing countries, there is very little control over the choice and quality of pesticides or the way they’re used. These highly toxic chemicals (cyanide and organophosphates) are responsible for poisoning the soil and the people who work it.

World-wide it is estimated that over 3 million poisoning cases each year are caused by the use of pesticides on crops. Furthermore these chemicals don’t simply rinse out on their first trip through your washing machine. Even after several cycles you can still be absorbing these ghastly chemical through your skin.

Aside from being poisoned by the pesticides cotton workers are exploited at every level.

“The economics of Central Asian cotton are simple and exploitative. Millions of the rural poor work for little or no reward growing and harvesting the crop. The considerable profits go either to the state or small elites with powerful political ties. Forced and child labour and other abuses are common.”

The Curse of Cotton: Central Asia’s Destructive Monoculture- Asia Report N°93
Strangely, crop production, is an area that is often missed in reports on fair/ethical trade. The images of children sweating it out for 16 hours a day sewing clothes for Gap is a familiar one (The Observer October 28th 2007). But can you remember an article about the appalling working conditions of adults and children involved in growing cotton? Perhaps its easier to link the production of clothes to a specific company (especially if there’s a well-known logo involved) then to make the link between the high street stores and the cotton fields of Asia.
Irrigation is the other big no-no in cotton production. Cotton needs huge amounts of water to grow and the effects on the environment are simply staggering. The mighty Aral sea, once the 4th largest lake in the world, is now all but dry. The water that would have fed into it was re-channelled for use in cotton production. Instead of a lake there is now simply a bowl of dust. A bowl of dust the size of Germany.
Crazy as it seems it takes 6 litres of water to produce one Johnson’s cotton bud
The good news is that alternatives are available. Organic cotton and alternatives such as hemp and bamboo are now readily available over the internet with some specialist stores opening on the high street.
Organic cotton
The greatest benefit here is that there are no pesticides and fertilisers used. Combine that with a fair trade source and you have a quality product that is not poisoning the environment or the people involved in production. Care taken over the preparation of the soil allows it to retain moisture and reduces the need for supplementary irrigation. The fair trade label also ensures that workers receive a fair reward for their efforts.

Bamboo
There’s no doubt that Bamboo makes a great alternative. Its a soft (like cashmere) and very comfortable fabric that allows air to circulate freely. It is also antibacterial, anti-static and antifungal. It grows naturally without any need for fertilisers or pesticides and is 100% sustainable and 100% biodegradable.

Hemp
An incredibly soft and strong fabric that can retain its shape over many years (think T shirts here!) Like with bamboo it’s a fast growing crop that doesn’t damage the land and has no need for pesticides or fertilisers. Its breathable; keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer. Hemp is 100% sustainable and 100% biodegradable.

If there was one way to help the environment that we could do and make a difference this would be it. Video from Glenn Beck, surprisingly, not the most pro environment kind of guy.

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environment risks low energy light bulbs

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