Have you ever dreamed of being a farmer, meanwhile you’re stuck in your 9 to 5 office job?  Or is yours the ultimate sustainable permaculture dream?  Perhaps you’re the ultimate back garden farmer already?  Or allotmenteer?  While you’re still dreaming about your piece of countryside, you can wear the farm with this 100% organic T-shirt from Mountain T-shirts  that’s coloured by hand in the US using eco-friendly colours.

Mother’s Day is coming up soon (don’t forget it, it’s the 22nd of March) and thousands will be doing the usual last minute dash to the shops for a card and flowers.  But there’s plenty of time to make it a more meaningful Mother’s Day this year, with a little bit of careful planning and some green savvy.  If you, like me, think of the earth as our mother too, make your gift a tribute to both the wonderful woman who brought you into this world, and the wonderful world that nurtures and keeps us alive.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Bamboo Salad Hands - an extra pair of sustainable hands to help Mum keep hers clean when she’s tossing salads.

Ruby Red Organic Mandarin and Lemon Body Smoothing Scrub - handmade, organic and chemical-free Dead Sea salt scrub that’s very refreshing for even the most sensitive skin.

Sun Jar - a clip-sealed jam jar fitted with a solar powered bulb that casts a soft glow at night after a day spent in direct sunlight.

The Pocket Garden Organic Herbs - a miniature herb garden in a pouch that only needs to be cut open, seeds added and watered for a green reminder to your Mum of how much you love her.

Photo credit: woodleywonderworks

With it getting to that time of year when our thoughts turn to our gardens and what we’re going to be doing with them this summer season, perhaps you’d like to check out these easy-install Slate Step Stone Lights from the Smart Solar range.

Each of these small solar-powered lights is set within a 200 x 200mm natural slate stone tile, to demarcate path edges and offer accent and safety lighting for gardens and allotments.  They are sold in packs of two and should be flush fitted into paths or walkways for the best effect.

Slate Stone Step Lights use the free power of the sun via a solar panel within the top of each tile, that charges the rechargeable battery included within each light.   The lights automatically illuminate when it becomes dark and gives around 8 hours of soft lighting each night. No wires, no maintenance, water-proof and compact, the Slate Step Stone Lights have a 2 year manufacturers warranty. Nice.

Tea producer Twinings has started to wrap it’s Everyday tea bags in compostable packaging film that will break down in domestic composters in just a few weeks.  This is just one of the initiatives by Twinings to make their packaging more sustainable, enabling people like us to cut waste.

“As a company we are always looking at ways to lessen our impact on the environment.  By using NatureFlex™ film as the inner wrap in this pack, it not only protects the teabags, but also makes it easier for our customers to reduce their waste through home composting,” said David Parkes, Twinings.

Urban Decay is a make-up brand that doesn’t pander to ordinary.  Just take a look at the Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box to be convinced of that.  The box includes 10 eyeshadows with extraordinary names like Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Half Baked, Twice Baked and Oil Slick, cult-favourite Eyeshadow Primer Potion for eyeshadow that looks fresh all day long, and a cruelty-free application brush for applying the gorgeous shadows wet or dry.

But what’s VERY special about this eyeshadow box is its packaging.  It comes in a lacquered bamboo case with a lid,  adorned with beautiful inky doodles,  that swings open to reveal a mirror for applying make-up on the go.   The eyeshadows are nestled in a recycled paper tray, and the clear outer packaging is recyclable. £20.00 from Look Fantastic.