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Ethical living links

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Tryphena Absent

19:31 / 16.02.06

I kick this thread off with olive oil from Zaytoun. A fairtrade business that sources its products from Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees.

pointless & uncalled for

19:53 / 16.02.06

Maybe a little declasse of me but here is the Fairtrade UK link.

Psi-L is working in hell

21:06 / 16.02.06

Nice thread Nina.

Some ethical clothing sites:

Howies, for outdoor stuff, skater/biking wear, and t-shirts.

Tonic T-shirts, for more t-shirts, hoodies, etc...

07:49 / 20.02.06

Here are a couple of links for the Marine Stewardship Council: This one to find out more about the organisation, and this one focused specifcally on consumer choices (click on the "where to buy" button.

Stewardship councils are bodies specifically set up to encouurage sustainability in key areas where resources are threatened. A similar projects for forestry management and sutainable uses of wood has been been a huge success - will post a link soon as I remember the name! - through influencing consumer choices, so supporting this could help. The main way we're going to interface with it is by buying products with the MSC label so bear this in mind next time you're in the "frozen foods" section, but there's much more we could do - a few letters to supermarkets, praising them for stocking these goods as well as condmening them for bad practice, being aware of these issues in general when you shop, informing friends and family etc. etc.

The first person to say "but it's just a drop in the ocean" gets a slap.

07:52 / 20.02.06

This is from the site:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, global, non-profit organisation with its head office based in London, UK. In a bid to reverse the continued decline in the world's fisheries, the MSC is seeking to harness consumer purchasing power to generate change and promote environmentally responsible stewardship of the world's most important renewable food source.

The MSC has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. It uses a product label to reward environmentally responsible fishery management and practices. Consumers, concerned about overfishing and its environmental and social consequences will increasingly be able to choose seafood products which have been independently assessed against the MSC Standard and labelled to prove it. This will assure them that the product has not contributed to the environmental problem of overfishing.

07:59 / 20.02.06

Good idea Nina.

It's probably worth mentioning The Rough Guide to Ethical Shopping here too.

But be warned, it's depressing reading and shocking to learn exactly how many of the things we buy are completely unethical.

09:27 / 20.02.06

Here is the link to the Forestry Stewardship Council. Of less immediate relevance to most of us (being more likely to buy fish than furniture but worth knowing about.

There's an account of the FSC's work, in Jared Diamond's book Collapse which you should read if you have the remotest interest in these issues. And even if you haven't. It's now out in paperback.

Salon interview with Jared Diamond

10:50 / 20.02.06

A good site for Fair Trade jewellery is Silver Chilli

Some nice stuff and apparently all the profit (not just some of it) goes back to the community in Mexico that makes it...

Goodness Gracious Meme

11:44 / 20.02.06

Hippy Shopper for ethical consumer news and products.

Several useful links here

10:43 / 21.02.06

Ethiscore - like an ethical Which?, really.

19:52 / 21.02.06

For you ethical, straight-edge, vegan types there is of course Vegan Society, which has links to other ethical sites, and also Is It Vegan?.

I don't like to promote any particular enterprise but these guys have been around for a while Ethical Wares, for all your hippy needs.

Tryphena Absent

22:06 / 22.02.06

GGM, you are my Queen. I have been wondering if I could find a toothpaste that hadn't been tested on animals for ages and there it is at the top of Hippy Shopper. Kingfisher toothpaste.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

22:32 / 22.02.06

I've had that, it's nice. Not very sweet.

10:25 / 23.02.06

Don't know if anyone saw Newsnight last night but they had a immensely irritating new feature, "Ethical Man" - some guy who's basicaly going to live "ethically" for a year. The concept dumbs down toward the gutter even as I type. It was the whole zany "why would anyone every want to do these kkkeerrzzy things - imagine! Not having a car!" way it was presented that really made me want to kick the TV in. The debate that followed was even worse, with a couple of talking heads polarised against each other in spectacularly thoughtless way.

I suppose if choices like this are every going to become more widespread, they will be trivalised in this way, but God was it irrritating. The link is here if you want to go on and give him some abuse.

11:58 / 23.02.06

The Co-op has many own brand products that can be termed ethical. For instance, toothpaste not tested on animals (certified by BUAV) and wine not fined with animal derived products (isinglass anyone?)

Tryphena Absent

12:25 / 23.02.06

I enjoyed "ethical man" although Gavin whatshisface angered me. The most interesting thing about it was that his sister was so committed to ethical living.

The concept dumbs down toward the gutter even as I type

It isn't really dumbed down though is it? This shouldn't be a high-faluting intellectual issue, it should be practical and I thought that came across quite nicely in the article. The way that his sister did her shopping, the man who talked about having to think about everything you consume. the piece has the potential to reach a large audience and suggest small things that can be done everyday and that's really the kind of TV we need to see on this issue.

14:47 / 23.02.06

No, I agree. I knew I'd phrased that badly. What annoyed me was the way it was a bit keerrrazy to do things that - to me at least - are bleeding obvious.

Perhaps I should get off this high horse, the airs a bit thin.

Tabitha Tickletooth

09:56 / 24.02.06

This disappointing news/rumour could well see me out shopping for a new breed of shampoo in the very near future. Any recommendations on something that is reasonably freely available (I am greasy hair-tastic and do a lot of hair washing, so something I can buy on the high street would be handy). No animal testing is an absolute must.

In Australia, take a look at Choose Cruelty Free (my Mum sends me a new t-shirt every birthday) - small warning: front page poster image on this site may be disturbing and possibly not too work friendly.

On a finance front, I've just shifted my accounts over to Smile - ethical and online, so you don't get inundated with wasteful, unwanted bank junkmail. Service was excellent in moving accounts about. Sod off Barclays - ha ha.

10:05 / 24.02.06

....all under the guise of adding value for L'Oreal's shareholders. What has happened to the Roddick's principles?

Anyway, does anyone know the difference between Body Shop's "Community Traded" ingredients and "Fair Trade" ones?

10:12 / 24.02.06

Tabitha - I use shampoo from the co-op which isn't tested on animals, but I don't think it's as good in the natural ingredients stakes.

I used to use shampoo, deoderant and shower gel all from Original Source but these days the only thing I can easily find of theirs is the shower gel which is fucking annoying as I love their products. I don't know if they had some supply problem or some reason why shops stopped stocking their stuff.

Tryphena Absent

10:26 / 24.02.06

The body shop works on a revolving anti-animal testing policy anyway. I think they can use products that were tested on animals ten years ago (though it may be 15). That means that anything animal tested before 1990 can be put into their products.

That is why I buy my shampoo from Lush, which uses products that have never been tested on animals by anyone.

10:31 / 24.02.06

I tend to use Original Source stuff (I usually buy it from Tesco online), but I just read on their website:

"Our products do not contain any ingredients derived from animals with the exception of sodium tallowate in our Tea Tree and Lavender and Spearmint bar soaps."

The Kingfisher toothpaste looks good - usually I use Co-Op's, so will try that instead.

Tabitha Tickletooth

11:12 / 24.02.06

Loomis/Squirm - I have tried and liked the Original Source stuff - but oddly, I thought I was using it in Australia, not the UK. I shall look out for it and would definitely try it again. Thanks for the suggestion.

Nina - I buy my soap from Lush (you don't have to have it wrapped in plastic, yay), but never even realised they did shampoo. This sounds ideal and I might have a Lush shopping trip over the weekend.

The article linked to on the Body Shop is interesting. I had been aware of criticisms a number of times in the past, but believed the Body Shop to have responded with changes in practice and policy each time. The article certainly seems to cast some doubt on this and I will have a good read when not at work.

I have always had a slight squirm about Body Shop because it promotes cosmetics (ie make-up) to such an extent. I have serious issues with the role of make-up for many women and have always felt pushing it runs somewhat counter to many of the other stated beliefs of the organisation.

All that said, when I first started buying products not tested on animals many years ago, there weren't a lot of options and Body Shop seemed to fit the bill. Perhaps I'm suffering from some residual loyalty...

Tryphena Absent

11:16 / 24.02.06

Original Source is an Australian company I think. Their bath foam is really pleasant!

16:57 / 24.02.06

Lush's stuff is lurvely, but their bottled shampoos (not the solid ones) have parabens in, so watch out if you care about such things.

I use Urtekram shampoo and conditioner, but my hair totally sucks at the moment (not due to the shampoo, I haven't had it cut for a year) so I can't really say whether it's any good or not. It is, however, very ethical.

ONLY NICE THINGS

07:17 / 27.02.06

I tend to buy toiletries from Lush - which seems OK - the bottles are recyclabe (or reusable), and the ingredients natural, but I may be getting sucked in by the "all-natural" vibe. Does anyone have more info on their ethical/environmental track record?

Oh, incidentally (sorry if this has been mentioned - not much sleep) - those living in London can get their Ecover bottles refilled at Borough Market.

Tryphena Absent

13:27 / 28.02.06

Haus, I looked around but couldn't really find anything. Lush seems quite ethical and their ingredients all seem to be biodegradable so they're quite ecological. I would need to know more about 1)their factories and 2)the ingredients in order to make further judgments.

In other news I thought you might be interested in Monbiot on air travel.

06:29 / 11.04.06

This isn't strictly speaking within the purview of this thread but if you're interested in green issues, it's certainly something you should know about - Worldchanging.com

I suppose you could describe it as a "Green Solutions" site - they state WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

09:28 / 13.04.06

Today's Worldchanging has a ton of links about London: Permalink here

Tryphena Absent

21:01 / 24.05.06

I've just calculated my carbon footprint at carbon calculator. My footprint is aroung 3551 kg including shopping. I think I need to switch to a green tariff.

Tryphena Absent

19:00 / 18.06.06

I'm quite pleased to see that Natural Collection have won the online retailer category in the Observer's Ethical Awards.

Vaguely ethical products that I'm currently using Weleda Wild Rose Moisture Cream and Jason moisturiser.

I was wondering if anyone here is on green tariff electricity? I'm considering switching to ecotricity at the moment.

23:26 / 18.06.06

I just bought The Ethics of What We Eat, by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.

It has a lot of information and ideas about buying food ethically both from the perspective of taking animal's rights seriously, and from the perspective of living sustainably (ie what food choices have the least impact on the environment). It is pretty anti-meat eating of course, but it also has some good ideas about how to minimise the harm if you do choose to eat meat (eg it pointed me to a good link to how to buy fish sustainably in Australia).

A handy side benefit to buying food ethically is that it also semss to be healthier and yummier (organic fuji apples and Green and Black's chocolate rock my world at the moment!).

20:24 / 23.07.06

Yet more proof that Worldchanging.com is essential reading: An interview with Elizabeth Grossman,author of High Tech Trash, the first book about the waste generated from electronic consumables.

08:30 / 08.08.06

I've been using Ecover automatic laundry liquid for years but I'm not satisfied with it at the moment. I don't know if they have changed the formulation recently but my clothes are just not getting satisfactorily clean. Please can anyone suggest something which they have found more effective but is still highly biodegradable/not too nitrogen rich/doesn't contain factory farmed animals etc?

08:42 / 08.08.06

If only. I've had the same problem. Persil and Surf are apparently committed to removing the toxic chemicals, but the only green washing powders are v. difficult to source easily.

link to Greenpeace information

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