Putting one of these lovely recycled glass hand soap dispensers in your bathroom will not only brighten up the room, but make it greener too.  Not only because the glass is recycled, but because with a lovely reusable dispenser like this, you can buy your hand soap in bulk and save on all those plastic bottles that the soap usually comes in.  There’s the added bonus of saving money in the long run too, because buying in bulk saves lots.  Good for the planet, good for your wallet.  It’s a real win-win situation.

The Environment Agency are concerned that if we don’t take steps now, there won’t be enough water for future generations.   And they’re not talking about future generations on far flung shores either, they’re talking about right here on British soil.    The Environment Agency’s chief executive, Dr Paul Leinster, said: “People and businesses need to use less water and wasting water needs to cost a lot more. The proposals in our new strategy cover actions that need to be taken by water companies, Government, regulators, businesses and the public, and we need a joined up approach to this problem to prevent it becoming a crisis.”  The EA are calling for all water to be metered by 2050, but there’s no need to wait 41 years to make the changes.  You can start now, and preserve the earth’s most precious resource for your children and grandchildren. [source: edie]

It’s not difficult when you know how:

1.  Take a bucket into the shower with you and use the water you collect for watering your plants.

2. Switch off the water while you’re soaping yourself in the shower (pretend you’re a sailor).

3. Install water saving taps and shower heads throughout your home.

4. Pick both energy saving and water saving appliances like dishwashers and washing machines to keep the planet and its people smiling.

5. Make sure you only use your dishwasher and washing machines when you have a full load.

The government wants the tourist industry to green up their act, because we won’t have a beautiful country or planet to enjoy if they don’t.  Tourism minister Barbara Follett launched a new sustainable tourism framework for England last week saying: “All of us must try to behave in a more environmentally responsible way and the tourism industry is no exception. If we value the future of our world and if we want to protect our country’s unique tourism offer for future generations, we must take sustainability seriously and not see it just as an add-on luxury.

“There are already many businesses doing exemplary work in this area but more must to do so and soon. We have to challenge our thinking about what is on offer and how businesses are run. This will not be easy in difficult economic times, but a sustainable approach can be good for business too.

The new framework sets out “six key challenges” for the tourism sector to make it sustainable economically and ecologically.  They are:

• cutting waste, energy consumption and water use, recycling more and improving buildings
• tackling the impact of tourism transport (getting us onto public transport rather than travelling by car)
• improving the quality of holidays and making them accessible to everyone
• improving the quality of tourism jobs
• enhancing community prosperity and quality of life
• cutting the seasonality of demand

You too can do your bit by making your travel choices greener.  Offset your carbon emissions.  Choose your destination responsibly.  Leave only footprints and take only photographs.  And on the subject of photographs, if you’re going to be spending your holiday in the rugged outdoors with your camera, you might like to take a look at this Lowepro recycled backpack that offers adjustable comfort along with great camera protection.

This is the Easter egg of my dreams *sigh* (I hope my husband is reading this).  It’s like Mr Booja Booja says: “Everybody needs a little Booja Booja - now and then”, and Easter is definitely “now and then”.  Once you’ve undone the pretty pink ribbon, and taken the top off the velvet- lined egg, you’ll find 12 organic award-winning Booja Booja champagne truffles just for you (insert squeal of delight at this point), and whoever else you decide to share them with.  I don’t think I need to say anything else to convince you that this is the egg for you, apart from, yes, it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans, AND it costs a measly £8, so if perfectly affordable.

Treehugger’s Leonora Oppenheim recently accompanied Ecover and WaterAid on a trip to northern Ethiopia to discover the extent of WaterAid’s work (with funding from Ecover) in helped to bring clean water to many rural people in that area.    Leonora describes the trip as an incredible journey, and the photos taken along the way demonstrate just how important this work is in the lives of the Ethiopian people.  (See the photo’s from the Ecover and WaterAid trip here.)

This should be a lesson to us about just how incredibly important it is for us to conserve clean water supplies and consider the needs of the developing world as we go about our daily lives of abundance in the West.  After all, we are stuck in the middle of what is the worst economic situation in decades, and yet we still have food to eat and clean water flowing from our taps in the comfort of our own homes.  These people are struggling to survive on a much more basic level, and as the planet heats up they are going to find it harder and harder to survive at all.

To celebrate this partnership between Ecover and WaterAid, they are launching a documentary entitled ‘Working with Water’ at the London International Film Festival. Go along and watch on Saturday 4th April at 5.20pm at the British Museum.

I’ve just finished reading an interesting blog post over on Crafting a Green World about whether or not bamboo products are actually green.  To cut a long story short, here’s a summary of the pros and cons offered in the article:

Pros

• Like hemp, bamboo doesn’t require chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow
• It actively improves the soil that it’s grown in
• It grows fast, because it’s a grass, not a tree
• It requires little water
• It absorbs more CO2 and releases more O2 than many trees

Cons

• Some (but not all) bamboo processors use harsh chemicals to turn the stalks into fibres
• The current demand for bamboo as a “greener” material is cause overharvesting of some species

The fact remains though that if bamboo is not overharvested and is processed in a less chemical manner (which is possible and done by some manufacturers), that it is a greener resource than for example cotton or hardwoods.  And it is a very versatile material, that can be fashioned into nappies, kitchen stuff, furniture, clothes and even coffee filters.

To all the Mum’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day.  I hope it was a green one.

Nothing says springtime like flowers, and these hi-tech solar flowers will brighten up your garden, even after the sun has set.  In fact, they’re at their best after the sun has set.  The flowers magically transform into a spectacular lighting display, with the fibre optic strands fading from one colour to another.   Lovely for garden parties and powered by the sun, so there is no extra strain on your electric bill.

The flower does not have to be in direct sunlight to function because it has a moveable solar panel.  And it’s durable, made from materials that can withstand all weather conditions.   So once summer is over again, you can enjoy the display all through the winter too.

Available in Pink and Red, at £7.99 from Amazon.

So you’ve bought a green fridge.  Now what?  It will only be the energy saving wonder that you want it to be if you keep it well stocked.  I’m not talking stuffed to the seams.  Just reasonably full, but so that air can still circulate between your food and drink.

Here’s an idea: how about doing a big monthly or weekly shop to save petrol and time, it will also mean that your fridge is fuller.

If you don’t have enough food in your fridge, fill carrier bags with scrunched up newpaper and put it in the fridge.  Put plastic bottles filled with water in your freezer for the same energy saving effect.

Keeping lips kissable all year round is easy with these fabulous organic lip moisturisers.  Make sure you choose organic and natural over petrochemical for your health and the planet’s.

Green People Cool Lips Organic Formula Mint Lip Balm is free from artificial perfumes, parabens, petrochemicals, colourants, lanolin & phthalates.  It’s made with natural organic ingredients including aloe vera, cupuaca, myrrh, mint, coconut oil & conditioning berry wax.  This lip balm gives lips a light gloss & a subtle mint taste, and also has mild natural antiseptic qualities to keep your lips at their best.

MiEssence Certified Organics Jaffa Lip Balm is made with cocoa butter, avocado and sunflower oils to soften and repair chapped, rough lips with the delicious scent of organic orange and vanilla. You won’t find petrochemicals here.

Naturaleve Organic Lip Repair Balm with Juniper Berry is made of a luxury blend of 100% natural organic oils including pomegranate seed oil to help stimulate collagen production & protect lips, and rich nourishing shea, olive & jojoba oils.  It contains no parabens, petrochemicals, SLS, artificial preservatives, colours or fragrances.

Balm Balm Organic Rose Geranium Lip Balm comes in a funky little tub and contains a wonderful natural and organic balm suitable for all skin types.  It’s made of organic sunflower oil, organic shea butter, organic beeswax, organic aloe vera, organic calendula oil, organic rose geranium essential oil and nothing else.